Abingdon officials are considering using eminent domain to acquire private farmland needed to build a “connector” road from The Meadows retail development to the Washington Crossings Shopping Center, according to documents obtained by the Bristol Herald Courier.
Nan Harman, who has a farm and lives on Green Spring Road, received an April 17 letter from Town Manager Greg Kelly stating that the town “elects to move forward” with the potential purchase of less than an acre of farmland. The land is needed for right-of-way and temporary construction easements, Kelly wrote.
“If unable to negotiate this acquisition with you, we are preparing the necessary paperwork for the [Abingdon] Town Council to consider acquiring this property by eminent domain at the May 7, 2018 Town Council meeting,” Kelly said in the letter.
