Foxconn Eminent Domain Trial To Start Wednesday in Racine County Circuit Court
Trial is scheduled to start at 8:30 am on Wednesday, July 10, 2019, at the Racine County Courthouse in front of the Honorable Michael Piontek.
MOUNT PLEASANT, WI JULY 9, 2019 – Rodney and Cathy Jensen filed a lawsuit against the Village of Mount Pleasant and its Community Development Authority contesting the Village’s right to take their property under eminent domain for the Foxconn project. The Jensen’s home is located on 2.9 acres on the East Frontage Road in Area II of the Foxconn development. The Village’s road plans show they needed only .1333 acres of the Jensen’s front yard for road construction, but it took the entire 2.9 acres and their home. Work on the East Frontage Road has already been completed and the Jensen’s still live in their home. The Village didn’t need the Jensen property for the road project, the Village wanted their property because it promised to give it to Foxconn.
Trial is scheduled to start at 8:30 am on Wednesday, July 10, 2019, at the Racine County Courthouse in front of the Honorable Michael Piontek. It is expected to last two days. Only two properties in the Foxconn development areas have not been acquired by the Village of Mount Pleasant. The Cruezigers own more than 400 acres including their Land of the Giants pumpkin farm in Area II. The Village initially took all of the Cruezigers’ property even though it only needed a small portion of those parcels along Highway 11 and Braun Road for the expansion of those roadways. The Creuzigers filed a lawsuit against the Village and just days before a temporary restraining order hearing, the Village rescinded its jurisdictional offers claiming it did not need the property at that time because it was delaying the Highway 11 project. Months later, the Village served new jurisdictional offers on the Cruezigers, taking only the portions of their property needed for the road expansions.
The Mahoneys still own their home and 1.1 acres in the southeast corner of Area I. While the Mahoneys have always been willing to sell their property for the project, they rejected the Village’s attempts to take it using eminent domain because their property is in no way affected by the road projects or any other public use. The Mahoneys told us the Village now says it does not need their property (after it forced their neighbors to sell and bulldozed their homes), and it will leave them there and build a chain link fence around them.
A Better Mt. Pleasant is a nonpartisan, community organization dedicated to advancing a fair, accountable and transparent local government in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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