From today's Hartford Courant:NLDC Agrees To Rescind Homeowners' Notices To Vacate
11:53 AM EDT, September 16, 2005 Associated Press HARTFORD -- Under pressure from an angry Gov. M. Jodi Rell, the New London Development Corp. has agreed to rescind notices sent to some property owners that ordered them to vacate land being seized by eminent domain.
Michael Joplin, president of the NLDC, said the group had no choice but to comply. "I don't know it's within our purview to say no on this," Joplin said Friday morning. A letter to individual homeowners told to leave was being composed Friday. Officials hoped to get it in the mail Friday, but it would be mailed for sure by Monday, Joplin said. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in June that New London could take homes in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood to build a privately owned hotel and office space. The court also said states are free to ban the taking of property for such projects. Earlier this week, the NLDC sent out notices ordering the property owners and tenants to vacate within 30 to 90 days, and pay rent to the NLDC during that period. If residents didn't comply, the agency said it had the option of pursuing an eviction in court. Rell, who has asked for a third-party mediator to guide negotiations among property owners and renters, demanded that the letters be rescinded. She wants the authority consider a solution that would incorporate some of the remaining houses into the final development plan. "This was just the wrong way to handle it," Rell told The Associated Press. "While the negotiations are going on, you don't tell people that you've got to go out." Scott Bullock, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, which is representing the homeowners, said they were elated with the decision. One resident is caring for a handicapped granddaughter and would have found it difficult to leave in 30 days, he said. "Just being ordered out at all would be unbelievably cruel," he said. Meanwhile, city officials are planning to schedule a vote of no confidence in the development agency. They have told the state the project cannot go forward unless the agency's leadership steps down. Several members of the development board, which was scheduled to meet Friday afternoon, said they had no plans to seek Joplin's or Goebel's dismissal. "I think it's the most insane thing I've ever heard of," John S. Johnson, a board member, told The Day of New London. "I don't think NLDC has ever had better leadership than with Joplin and Goebel. And I'm appalled that anyone would even think of that."
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