(10/30/2019: CAMAS, WA)
Mrs. Aster Davis has lived in her home between Lacamas Lake and Fallen Leaf Lake for the last 57 years. She and her husband Frank bought a small parcel of land and a modest house from the owner in 1963. Because they lived 500 feet from each other, they became fast friends and spent years as close neighbors. That same owner lent the two money for a new addition to their house, and let them pay him back over time. They all looked after each other.
But as happens in life, The Davis' neighbor got older, and finally passed on to the Better Place. Before he died, he wanted Aster and Frank to be able to purchase all of his remaining land so it could be theirs and add to what they already owned. That's the kind of neighbor he was.
But at that time, the Davis Family just simply could not afford it. They were a modest family, raising kids in the Camas school district. Frank was a lifetime employee of the paper mill, and stretched the family income as far as he could to provide everything his children needed. The money just wasn't there.
When the remaining property was finally listed for sale, the City of Camas purchased it and became the new owners of a 6 acre parcel of land between the two lakes- surrounding the property owned by the Davis Family. This is the proposed location of the new $72 million Camas Aquatic Center. And for the last few months, Aster Davis has been pacing back and forth in her front window, worrying and waiting for the Man to come tell her she has to leave.
As you can see in the artist rendition below, the small grey house in the drawing is the Davis home. It's been there since 1963.
Mrs. Davis does not want to leave her home of 57 years. She is an aging widow, and it's this place she's called home where she wants to spend the rest of her days. Her son Matt feels equally connected to their homestead. But the City of Camas has decided to build a 78,000 square foot "Home Depot" sized building on the 6 acres of land it already owns surrounding the Davis property. This, according to Camas Mayor Shannon Turk, represents "the best plan the City could come up with."
Camas Parks and Recreation Manager Jerry Acheson has already approached the Davis Family and let them know in no uncertain terms, that the City will aggressively pursue the acquisition of their property. What that actually means is uncertain, but the options are few and far between if Mrs. Davis refuses to leave. She has remained steadfast in her desire to spend her last years in her home, and pass away there like her husband Frank did last year.
In an interview with KATU News, Camas City Administrator Pete Capell said the city wants to purchase her land and would offer market value. But Davis doesn't want to sell. As a result, there are only two remaining options for the city to employ. The first is acquisition by Eminent Domain.
Eminent domain, or the right of condemnation, is a power that is held by federal, state, and local governments. ... In Washington, as in other states, governmental entities can use the eminent domain power to take an individual's private property for a public purpose, even if the landowner is unwilling to sell. Because the Davis Family has limited financial means, they would likely be unable to afford adequate legal representation for an eviction process the city could stretch out for years with their virtually unlimited attorney budget paid by taxpayers.
Sadly, because the Davis Family would literally be surrounded by parking lots and hundreds of cars in and out 7 days a week- their property SHOULD BE a prime target for eminent domain. This scenario is exactly why the laws exist, because in this case- the Davis family would be living in a dangerous vehicular environment extremely close to a busy aquatic center. And members and employees of the aquatic center would be driving only feet from Mrs. Davis' home every day. This ongoing safety concern is exactly what eminent domain was designed to rectify.
Incredibly, the taxpayers of Camas would actually be funding the lawyers who were actively seeking the eminent domain takeover of Aster Davis' home of 57 years- to build an aquatic center. But Capell claimed in the same KATU interview that the city was not currently planning to use eminent domain to acquire the Davis home. Not today, at least. And Capell did not provide any future commitment that the city would not reconsider this approach. There is no legal preclusion in the bond or the ordinance that would prevent the city from ultimately taking this direction if they so chose at a later time.
What Capell went on to say, however, was even more troubling. "We have approached them about selling it. Certainly, she's not interested in selling. So we'll work around it till such time that the circumstances change. We definitely would like to acquire that property in the future."
Work around it? Until the circumstances change?
Does that mean that Aster Davis gets to spend the next 5 years with a massive 78,000 square foot construction project going on outside her bedroom window? Trucks and earth moving equipment rumbling past her house 18 hours a day? Construction trailers and workers set up on all sides of her modest home- looking at her, making her uncomfortable, snickering? Makes The Villages in Florida start to look pretty good.
Is that what Capell has in mind to insure that "circumstances change". The thought of bypassing the eminent domain route and replacing it with the "we'll work around her until circumstances change" strategy, smacks of cruel self-dealing. One can only wonder how long she could take it, before she buckled under stress and accepted his fair market value offer to voluntarily leave.
But it's crystalline clear. They'll get it one way or the other. Because in the end, the Davis Family homestead where Mrs. Davis has lived for 57 years, is an impediment to the $72M aquatic center. Just like the Crown Park pool was.
And it appears that there is nothing more important to Camas city officials, than the passage of Proposition 2. The "Win at All Costs" strategy employed during their entire public presentation of this $78M pool bond, has never been more evident.
Many Camas taxpayers believe there are 78 million reasons to Vote NO on Prop 2. But if there were only one...