A handful of homeowners in the southeast Atlanta neighborhood of Peoplestown have fought with the city for years to stay in their houses after the Kasim Reed administration sought to use eminent domain to acquire the property in the wake of destructive flooding.
On Monday, the day before Election Day, that longstanding legal dispute quickly morphed into a political issue, as the City Council considered a proposal to settle the disagreement that was heralded by Reed, now a candidate for mayor.
Other leading candidates also spoke out on the issue: Council President Felicia Moore and Councilman Andre Dickens attended a rally hosted by Peoplestown residents who criticized Reed’s proposed solution.
Councilwoman Carla Smith and Councilman Michael Julian Bond introduced a resolution at Monday’s City Council meeting expressing the city’s intent to put $1.75 million toward a settlement split between three of the families remaining on a block.
Both Smith and Bond spoke during a press conference at Reed’s headquarters Monday morning to support the proposal, which they said Reed helped put together.
“I’m glad to lend my energy as a private citizen to right a hurt. To deal with genuine hurt,” Reed said, adding that he called Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms about the resolution.
A spokesman for Bottoms’ office said in a statement that the administration “has negotiated in good faith with the parties and remain supportive of any efforts that get us one step closer to final resolution of this long and complicated matter.”
Smith and Bond sought to immediately pass the resolution Monday, but the City Council voted 12-3 to send it through the council’s normal two-week committee process.
When asked about Reed’s proposal Monday, Bertha Darden, one of the remaining residents said: “I haven’t heard that. They’re gonna have to say that to my face.”
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Bond said the resolution was simply “a position of intent to work the issue out.” He also introduced a formal ordinance that could be voted on in the next few weeks to formally approve the monetary settlement.
Several councilmembers, including some of Reed’s opponents, said it felt like the Peoplestown issue was being used for political purposes.
“This is some poli-tricks to have this happen the day before a municipal election,” Dickens said.
Moore said during the council meeting that when legislation is introduced “and the first people hear about it is through a press conference at a political campaign office, then that definitely makes it a political statement.”
Moore added that the intent behind the proposal is positive, and she hopes the city can resolve the issue with the families.
Reed said in a statement Monday afternoon he is confident that “after we get through Election Day politics, that this legislation will pass and make $1.75M available to address this long-standing problem in a way that’s consistent with our values as a community. This solution represents the Atlanta way.”
The disagreement first entered the discourse of the mayor’s race less than two weeks ago, when Darden stepped up to the microphone at an Oct. 22 mayoral forum and confronted Reed about his administration’s attempts to take her home following severe flooding that started in 2012. That moment went viral in local circles, racking up over 37,000 views on YouTube.
The city proposed a park and retention pond to stop future flooding in the area, and sought to use eminent domain to acquire the houses. Most of the residents left, but Darden was among a few who refused to take a deal, waging a years-long legal battle against City Hall that is still ongoing.
Reed responded at the forum by apologizing to Darden and her husband, saying that he made the best decision he could at the time based on worries about future severe weather events.
At Monday’s rally outside City Hall, speakers said some residents were recently hit with eviction notices ordering them to leave their properties.
At the Peoplestown event, the speakers demanded that Bottoms cancel the evictions and denounced Reed’s candidacy — singing “Hit the Road” and “Leave him alone” during the event.
In 2014, with the support of the Reed administration, Councilwoman Carla Smith sponsored the ordinance that caused the Peoplestown eminent domain action that affected the Dardens and other Peoplestown residents.
Since then, Bond and Dickens unsuccessfully sponsored a 2019 ordinance in an effort to end the city’s actions against the Dardens, Dwanye Adgar, and Tanya Washington.
