Real Estate & Property Law

Nashville Flood Way Project

By Alan Ackerman

Nashville Business Journal

Mayor Karl Dean also announced 'an aggressive home buyout program' that will leverage state and federal funds to condemn and purchase homes in flood ways and flood plains, with the vision of clearing parcels and incorporating them into the parks system.

'The rule is if you acquire property with this buyout program, you can't put a structure on it,' said Scott Potter, director of Metro Water Services.

Metro Planning Director Rick Bernhardt said 530 primary structures within a floodway were damaged and 2,500 structures outside the floodway but inside the flood plain have been identified as damaged.

'We have a long way to go, and a lot of the issues are very complicated,' Dean said.

Nashville is moving forward with an aggressive home buyout program in order to fulfill FEMA requirements and standards.  What the local agency will do in this eminent domain action is create a large park system where one did not previously exist.  It is outrageous to think that the flood way will be protected in the future. 
 

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on June 04, 2010 (boomark / email).