Gwinnett County officials announced on Friday that they will not use eminent domain after all to take more than 10 acres of land that has belong to a prominent Black family in south Gwinnett for more than 100 years.
The decision to not go through the courts to force the Livsey family into selling two properties, known as the “lake property” and the “apartment property,” comes after a public backlash. After news broke earlier his week that Gwinnett planned to use eminent domain to take the land, it was quickly panned on social media.
The county wanted to add the land to a planned historical park that would have included, among other things, recreations of antebellum slave quarters. The park is being put on property the county has already acquired from the Livsey family.
“Based upon our collective desire to work with Mr. (Thomas) Livsey Sr. and his family as to this property, the county will not move forward with taking formal action on the eminent domain proceedings on April 25,” the county said in a statement.
“We respect the right of Mr. Livsey Sr. and his wife, as a private landowner in determining the best use of this property, and we will work with Mr. Livsey Sr. and his family to reach a joint decision about how best to support the vision and wishes of Mr. Livsey Sr. and his family for the future use of this property.”
Members of the Livsey family had argued that the county planned to pay less than what they saw he land as being worth, and argued that Gwinnett was going down the eminent domain route because the family is Black.
Chad Livsey told the Daily Post earlier this week that he’d received information that the county also planned to focus heavily on the Civil War history, when the Promised Land was a plantation with about two dozen slaves, and its original owner, Thomas Maguire. Livsey said he feared the county…
Read the full article here