This sad story shows how difficult, as Al Gore said, “the wrenching transformation of society” will be. The bike paths, walking paths, and mass transit lines for our new human settlements are being forced onto private property over the objections of the individuals who are being forced to sacrifice their land to eminent domain.
The owner of a property in Montgomery County, 85 year old Mary Granato, has been fighting to prevent Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission from having her large trees cut down and her front yard taken through eminent domain. MVRPC has plans to construct a bike path within 8 feet of her front door. This battle for property rights has been going on for most of a year.
This story ends even more tragically than normal. On July 31, 2013, while the county, against Mary’s wishes, was cutting down the mature trees immediately in front of her 150 year old house, Mary had a heart attack and died. To read about the struggle Mary has had since last October to stop this infringement of her property rights, please click here. link
Below is the story written in the Dayton Daily News on August 4, 2013 after Mary’s death.
The death of an 85-year-old Washington Twp. woman could postpone work on the stretch of Austin Boulevard running past her home. Continue reading
