A judge ruled November 13 against a Little Rock real estate developer seeking to block the city from taking 2.9 acres of land he owns to complete the 27.7-acre Clinton Presidential Library site.
Eugene Pfeifer III’s lawsuit contended that Arkansas eminent-domain law does not include a library among the reasons why the government may demand property in exchange for just compensation. However, Chancery Court Judge Vann Smith found that the land is being taken for “an urban park in downtown Little Rock that will include the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Complex,” the Associated Press reported November 14. “The court finds that an acceptable use of the park can include structures such as a library, educational facilities, archives, and other similar structures.”
Although Skip Rutherford, coordinator of the privately funded library project said that the ruling “means we can move forward,” Pfeifer told the November 16 Little Rock Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he planned to appeal his case.
Posted November 20, 2000.