ATLANTA — A hearing on Tuesday raised questions about a railroad company’s use of eminent domain in one of Georgia’s poorest areas.to legally condemn nine properties in Sparta, Georgia. The commission’s decision to adopt or reject the officer’s recommendation could affect property law nationwide.
Lawyers representing the property owners and the No Railroad in Our Community Coalition, which formed to stop the railroad’s construction, say that Sandersville has not met the requirements of Georgia’s eminent domain law. Maurer added that Sandersville hasn’t produced information on “basic issues” such as costs and expected loads. He also said that the company never contested a 50-page report produced by a railroad consultant that disputed the economic feasibility of the project.
“There are markets that Veal Farms can’t reach,” Highsmith said. “There are markets that Southern Chips cannot reach economically without access to the CSX mainline in East Georgia.” Quarry or not, Blaine Smith said nothing could convince him to willingly give up the part of his land. The property in Sparta has been in his family for several generations.
The couple might move back to Sparta full time, but they also want to protect their land for future generations of Black farmers – a small slice of an already declining population of farmers.