Don't railroad the railroad

Chesapeake's grand revitalization plans for South Norfolk have gotten stuck at the crossing - of the railroad tracks.

It could be a very long wait. And I'm siding with the trains.

The City Council this week delayed, until July 15, a vote connected to the $200 million Belharbour Station at SoNo. City officials believe the proposed residential-retail-office project, in a heavily industrial area by the Elizabeth River, could kick-start redevelopment in the borough. The current council approved the overall redevelopment project last year.

On Tuesday, the council was scheduled to vote on a resolution on the right of way for five railroad crossings. Council members delayed a vote so city staffers could review a report commissioned by the Norfolk & Portsmouth Beltline Railroad.

The proposed resolution would allow Chesapeake city officials to pursue eminent domain or condemnation if talks fail with the railroad. Belharbour's developer, Paylor Spruill, told me that "we'd have to rethink the project completely" if the city doesn't obtain the right of way.

Put aside, for now, the long odds this project must surmount to become a success. Environmental issues will be a concern for years, because the offices, condos and apartments would arise atop land in this manufacturing community.

The July vote, though, will deal with one of government's greatest powers and most-feared weapons: the public taking of private land. The railroad company doesn't want to give up its possession, citing traffic headaches and safety concerns should Belharbour - and its hundreds of residents - become a reality.

A railroad official notes that, currently, only one of the five crossings is easily accessible by vehicles.

Spruill, the developer, wants the city's leverage so he can upgrade the crossings and install utility lines underneath them. He sees the improvements as essential to Belharbour's success.

The dispute centers on whether, strictly speaking, the city's move would be for a "public" purpose. There's no question that the site is part of Chesapeake's latest comprehensive plan, that city officials believe it is a key to revitalizing the community, and that public-backed money would help make Belharbour a reality.

"It's clearly a public purpose," Spruill contends.

Not necessarily.

This is not a school, or a highway, or a fire station we're talking about here - the top examples when you think of a public use. The city stands to increase its tax dollars, for sure.

But the biggest winner would be Spruill and his partners. The way I see it, the city's revitalization would be a secondary benefit.

Ryan Snow, an attorney for the rail line, says the council's resolution allows the city to take the property "in fee simple." That essentially means absolute ownership of the crossings, Snow says.

"If they try to take our property, they may be inviting litigation," he added. That probably means costly lawsuits, tying up Belharbour in the court system.

Another factor in the July 15 vote will be a change in the composition of the council.

Last year, the current council voted 6-2 to approve Belharbour, with Mayor Dalton Edge not voting. Mayor-elect Alan Krasnoff voted in the minority along with John de Triquet. Rebecca Adams, one of the backers, lost her seat when she ran for mayor.

Two new members could make the condemnation tally interesting. Debbie Ritter is a past council member who rejoins the body July 1. "Land condemnation is one of the most serious things a government can undertake," she told me Thursday night, without specifying how she'll vote. "There has to be a serious enough reason to do it."

And current member Bryan Collins, who sided with the majority last year, seemed skittish about voting for condemnation, too. "It's going to have to be shown where there's a compelling need" to support it, he said.

This is not the first time the Chesapeake City Council has been faced with a difficult eminent domain issue. In 2002, a developer wanted the council to use its power to condemn two gas stations, on Battlefield Boulevard near Interstate 64, for a shopping center he wanted to build.

The council narrowly sided with the gas stations.

The council wants Belharbour to be a success, but it shouldn't ride like a locomotive over the rights of property owners.

Roger Chesley is associate editor of The Pilot's editorial page. Reach him at (757) 446-2329 or at roger.chesley@pilotonline.com.