Sparta residents lose ruling in land battle against railroad
SPARTA, Ga. - A Georgia Public Service Commission hearing officer ruled against a group of local residents fighting to keep parts of their land from being seized for use by a railroad.
The Sandersville Railroad wants to legally condemn property to build a 4.5-mile rail line to serve a rock quarry and possibly other industries.
The line would be built by the Sandersville Railroad and connect to the CSX railroad at Sparta, about 65 miles west of Augusta.
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In March, the railroad filed a petition before the Georgia Public Service Commission to obtain authority to condemn the land and take it through eminent domain, against property owners’ will.
In May, the property owners teamed up with the Institute for Justice to fight back. Others who live nearby, organized as the No Railroad In Our Community Coalition, are represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
READ THE RULING:
The group argued that the railroad would further burden a neighborhood with many Black retirees on fixed incomes.
A hearing officer ruled Monday that the railroad can seize 200-foot-wide strips of land that run through several people’s properties. The railroad has agreed to build an at-grade rail crossing for each property owner.
The matter can be appealed to the Public Service Commission, which regulates railroads in the state.
Railroads have long had the power of eminent domain, but Georgia law says such land seizures must be for “public use.”
Opponents targeted the project by saying it would only benefit the quarry and doesn’t meet the definition of public use.
The hearing officer disagreed.
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