ATLANTA — A hearing on Tuesday raised questions about a railroad company’s use of eminent domain in one of Georgia’s poorest areas.
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.
Sparta residents also worry that the railroad would permit the expansion of a nearby quarry that generates noise and dust. One resident, Kenneth Clayton, 59, said the quarry’s activities caused the ceiling on his home to fall. Now, Smith grows timber on the land and rests by the property’s pond. He and his wife, Diane, live in Maryland, but they come to Sparta several times a year.