RICHMOND, Texas — Some property owners in Richmond, Texas are preparing to fight after they say Fort Bend County has threatened to take their land for public use. The land is in Historic Downtown Richmond.
It’s called eminent domain - the right of the government to take private property for public use with fair payment. However, the owners of one of the properties under consideration say there’s nothing fair about it and aren’t interested in selling.
S. 5th Street in Richmond is lined with old oaks and some homes older than a century, but recently, property owners in this block have been notified by letter that the county is thinking of taking their land.
Rita and Paul Cinquemani own one of the properties. They are the landlords to four businesses and rely on that income. The Cinquemanis say when the received the letter, they called the county to find out what was going on.
“[They] told us that they wanted to turn it all into a parking lot,” Rita Cinquemani said.
The letter cites eminent domain.
“They can walk on your property and say guess what, we want it. And you’re out," she said.
“I feel violated and I feel scared,” added Paul Cinquemani. “This is the time in our lives where we were looking to kick back and get into our retirement years…and now this gets us into having to start over again.”
Eminent domain is widely known for its use to build roads or railway lines. The Cinquemanis say those aren’t the reasons they were given.
"But we’re hearing a parking lot. Give me a break,” Paul said.
Last week a petition was started by Richmond resident Jillian Reed to try to keep the county out and to draw attention to the matter. The hashtag they’re using is #SaveItDontPaveIt.
“If you tear down the things that bring this community character, people won’t want to come,” said Reed.
Reed said she learned about the plan because she tried to buy one of the historic homes in the block to house her bookstore/cocktail business. That’s when she learned the county was trying to buy the home too.
In about a week, Reed’s petition has nearly 2,000 signatures.
KHOU 11 reached out to Fort Bend County Pct. 4 Commissioner Dexter L. McCoy and County Judge KP George. When asked if the plan was to bulldoze the homes to make way for a parking lot, we did not receive a direct answer.
Commissioner McCoy sent the following statement:
“These are important, very delicate conversations about meeting the growing needs of our county. We are at the very beginning stages of this process and are evaluating all options. My door is always open to residents wishing to engage directly on these very important matters.”
At the time this story was published, Judge George did not respond to our request for comment.
The Cinquemanis don’t plan to sell and said they will take this to litigation if necessary. They also say other property owners should be paying attention.
“Because it can happen to you,” Rita said. “At any point, the county can come in and say, ‘I want your property.'”
There will be a commissioner’s court meeting on May 23 at 1 p.m. Reed said several community members plan to be there to protest.