In 1999, a farmer gave away 87 acres of land to a small Texas city to use as a park. The city sold to a data center developer for $10 million.
  • Arrandee@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1011·
    5 months ago

    She’s gonna get a share of the lease revenue on that, right?

    …right?

  • cogman@lemmy.worldEnglish
    712·
    5 months ago

    One of the more fucked up aspects of eminent domain. City/county/state governments can nuke deeds by using eminent domain. It allows them to turn a plot of land, regardless prior restrictions, into things like dumps.

    The fucked up part about it is they can also turn public lands into private lands with that same trick.

    What’s frustrating is we still need eminent domain for good. It’s basically the only way to build railways and roads. It even ends up being one of the few ways to deploy things like district heating/cooling and new fiber lines.

    • PalmTreeIsBestTree@lemmy.worldEnglish
      12·
      5 months ago

      I believe eminent domain should have a very limited scope legally and should mostly only be used for public infrastructure projects and housing honestly…

    • NocturnalMorning@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      5 months ago

      We have different definitions of good. I don’t see how building a highway system through other animals homes is considered “good”.

        • dzsimbo@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          6·
          5 months ago

          Lol, that’s clearly Portugal. They have burrokracia over there, and they are honorary Balkan.

        • wia@lemmy.caEnglish
          31·
          5 months ago

          Not judging but curious, why did you dig into post histories? I see plenty of people doing it even if I never do, so I’m just curious why.

          • JigglySackles@lemmy.worldEnglish
            6·
            5 months ago

            Can’t answer for them but the few times I’ve done it is to make sure I’m talking with someone that can actually hold a conversation and I’m not arguing with a shill or looney. Sometimes just to see what a person is like on average. Especially if they act like a cunt for little reason. Some do it just for curiosity sake.

        • innermachine@lemmy.worldEnglish
          21·
          5 months ago

          Lol I wasn’t expecting op to actually reply don’t need them doxxing themselves was just poking fun at how that crap happens more often than you’d think with the corruption , shits a plague everywhere

  • brem@lemmy.worldEnglish
    35·
    5 months ago

    I was curious where the land was, and if I could help in any way.

    It’s in Texas. I made a promise to myself that I’d never go back to Texas.

    Texas. Fucking. Suuuuuucks.

  • HotsauceHurricane@lemmy.worldEnglish
    24·
    5 months ago

    I know the saying is “don’t mess with Texas” but Texas seems to fuck itself over all the time. I would be raising hell about this if it was my backyard.

    • ironycanal@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      167·
      5 months ago

      That’s kind of but not exactly a mistranslation. The original Chinese is closer to ‘do not interrupt your enemy while he is making a mistake’, but in the american vernacular, you can just say ‘don’t mess with Texas’ and it means the same thing locally. Its one of those very regional sayings.

  • NottaLottaOcelot@lemmy.caEnglish
    10·
    5 months ago

    I’m curious what would be the better approach if someone wanted to donate land to be used for a park? Give it to a charity? Or somehow find the cash and just build the park yourself and let people visit your land?

    • MrNesser@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      5 months ago

      Depends how it was dontated, you can specify a loan of the land indefinetly to the city as long as its use is xyz.

      If its a straight donation with no caveats attached then the city can do what it wants

      My local council tried to build on some park land donated 100 years ago but the donator had specified its usage in the donation so they got shut down pretty hard.

      • Syrc@lemmy.worldEnglish
        6·
        5 months ago

        Unfortunately it seems like the donator specified the usage in this case as well, but the courts are straight up ignoring it.

        On July 7, 1999, Bland’s descendants granted 87.97 acres of land to the “Texas Parks and Recreation Foundation, a Texas non-profit corporation, to be held in trust for future use as parkland by Williamson County, Texas,” according to a copy of the deed reviewed by 404 Media.