Villa Rica families protest city roadway plan: "They're trying to take our home"

Homeowners in Villa Rica are protesting a roadway project that could force them off their property. City council voted to use eminent domain to gain access to private land to complete construction. 

While city leaders view the project as a necessary step toward growth and revitalization, affected landowners argue that progress should not come at the cost of their homes.

For homeowners Joyce Nalls and her sister, Marilyn Robinson, the stakes are deeply personal. Their property holds three generations of family memories, including the legacy of their deceased parents.

"We love this home because it's all the memories," Nalls said. "And so now they're trying to take the home."

The physical structure of the home itself is a testament to their family's history.

"Our daddy was a retired brick mason," Robinson shared. "He built the porch, the mailbox, the kitchen cabinets and other items around the house."

Now, the sisters are passionately protesting the roadway project that could potentially force them off their land. For them, relocating at this stage in their lives is a daunting prospect.

"We want to stay here. We don't want to sell because at this present time, Joyce and I, we don't know where we would go," Robinson said. "Joyce will be 77 in July. I will be 69 in October. We're not young."

The proposed roadway is designed to create a convenient path connecting the local community directly to downtown Villa Rica. City officials say the corridor will help revitalize the area and open a new lane for economic progress. The city needs to use 25 parcels of private land.

The city has already entered a construction contract and has spent more than $3 million to acquire all, but nine parcels. Nalls and Robinson are part of the nine owners who don't want to sell to the city.

Michael Cummings, an attorney representing several of the residents challenging the city, questions whether local officials did their due diligence before breaking ground. 

"I had no idea Villa Rica was going to try to take this land," Nalls said.

"They started working and they got right up to the edge of this traditionally Black neighborhood and started surveying people's yards and walking around and kind of acting like they own the place," Cummings said. 

According to Cummings, some homeowners were blindsided. 

"People came out of their homes literally and said, 'What are you doing?' And they came to find out that the city didn't even think about the fact that they had to pay these people or exercise their power of eminent domain to go through their neighborhood," she said. 

Villa Rica Interim City Manager Jennifer Hallman admitted that initial communication between city leadership and the neighborhood was poor but maintained that officials have since clarified the plans and the options available to property owners.

"We have a pending eminent domain filing for nine properties," Hallman confirmed, adding that pursuing the legal filing was a very difficult decision for the city.

"We truly, truly care about the citizens in that community," Hallman said. "And we want to see this parkway be completed. But we also want to be fair and equitable to the residents that are part of this eminent domain filing."

Hallman directed a message straight to the affected families: "To the residents of that community, we definitely hear you and we see you. And we want to make this a positive thing. We want to communicate. We want to continue to negotiate and we want to make this better for the community."

Despite the city's reassurances, residents feel that the push for development lacks empathy. Nalls clarified that she doesn't oppose the city's evolution but believes a line must be drawn at displacing families.

"If they want to do the growth of Villa Rica, that's all right," Nalls said. "But if they're taking people's homes, that is the point. Taking people's home when they have been there for a long, long time. And that, to me, it don't mean no compassion. They want what they want."

The project sits at a tense stalemate. Villa Rica officials stress that their priority is to continue negotiating with the nine remaining families. However, they confirmed that the pending eminent domain filings will be used as a last resort to ensure the parkway is built.