St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Suburban Journals
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
When people see the name "Eminent Dental" on his office door, Dr. Homer Tourkaukis hopes they will think about eminent domain.
The government practice of forcing someone to sell his or her property pushed Tourkakis to relocate his Arnold practice on Big Bill Road because of the Arnold Commons shopping center project.
But not without a fight.
Now located at 3613 Richardson Square in Arnold, Tourkakis said he is satisfied with the new office he moved to in May of 2009, although he still does not understand why he had to depart from what he called a premium location for the private business venture of THF Realty.
"It was 2005 when the city of Arnold and THF told me they wanted my property," Tourkakis, 52, recalled. "We refused them and were in court a couple of years. Our case went all the way to the state Supreme Court."
That would be when the Missouri Supreme Court in March 2008 ruled that a third-class city, such as Arnold, has the constitutional authority to take private property.
Eminent domain gives a government the right to take private property for public use. A common practice in recent years, however, has been for a government entity to award eminent domain power to private businesses.
Although some property owners are agreeable to the buyout and feel they received a fair price for their homes, others do not want to move at any price.
Tourkakis said he could have used other approaches in court to continue his battle to stay put, but was worn out emotionally and financially.
"The expense of staying in court was very traumatic for us," he said. "It was over six figures."
Tourkakis became a board member of Missouri Citizens for Property Rights, a group trying to get statewide initiatives on the ballot to stop the use of eminent domain to benefit private individuals, as well as to clearly define what blighting is and how it is to be implemented by government agencies.
Blighting, which is often the hammer used in eminent domain cases, has been a continuing source of controversy because different entities across the nation define the term differently. The fight over its definition continues to this day among lawmakers and judges.
While not everyone would agree, the concept of eminent domain is not in and of itself a bad thing, said Susan Coffin, assistant professor of public policies at St. Louis University.
"Here's how it can be used properly," Coffin said. "There's a downtown redevelopment project with vacant and abandoned buildings owned by property speculators. A developer wants to build a major project. The speculators want three times the value of the property. One or two speculators are holding out.
"Without eminent domain, the developer would have a difficult time proceeding with the project."
She acknowledged that eminent domain can give power to people not necessarily looking out for the public's interests.
"The negative examples are the developers who do not want to take a risk and ask a city to use eminent domain power right off the bat," Coffin said.
Arnold's city administrator, Matt Unrein, said Arnold officials did not take the use of eminent domain lightly when working on the Arnold Commons project, but had to look out for the overall good of the community.
"That was painful for Arnold at the time - for the council and the mayor - to use eminent domain to relocate businesses and homes," Unrein said. "Persons like Dr. Tourkakis and others had to feel the brunt of the regulations in being uprooted and being moved. It's unfortunate for these individuals. I am very pleased the doctor did choose to say in Arnold."
Unrein said the city ultimately benefited greatly by the construction of Arnold Commons.
"It has created a vibrant and growing retail development in the heart of Arnold," Unrein said.
Jim Roos, 66, of St. Louis, runs Neighborhood Enterprises, a rental property company.
He became known in the region for a large anti-eminent domain sign he displayed on one of his buildings in South St. Louis and is a major critic of the use of eminent domain. He said he expects it to return to the news as commercial development bounces back.
"It's a virus that won't go away," he said. "It's an issue that simply will simmer unless the U.S. Supreme Court does reverse a 2005 decision (see related story)."
He said he does not see a positive aspect to eminent domain's uses.
"I believe it is inevitable if you use eminent domain, it will hurt people," he said. "Even its threat will hurt people. I've been hurt by eminent domain immensely."
He said his company has lost 24 buildings and 60 apartments because of the use of eminent domain in St. Louis.
Those who are against the use of eminent domain for business purposes have an ally in the new mayor of Arnold, Ron Counts, who was elected in April 2009. One of his major campaign points was his opposition to eminent domain.
"Basically, I'm against eminent domain," Counts said. "I think it's been abused. I think we've got to get back to the old-fashioned way of sitting down and talking to people to work it out. I do not agree with the city's use of eminent domain in the past.
"I think until they close the laws, it's always going to be a controversial topic."