Comments about ‘Property seized for new Magna library’

I don't understand what this guy did wrong that the state seized all his stuff. Is this not a free country? Does a man not have a right to do as he pleases on his own property? He wasn't hurting anyone. What gives the state the right to take someone's land and posessions just because they want to build something? Do the people of the state not have the same rights as the government to build their dreams? Please help me understand this.

Won't a lawyer with a heart, if there is one, help this guy if it's not too late? I like how the county condemned his land so they could build a county library...something smells fishy here and it's not just Magna. Is this America?

This land is MY land!
That land is MY land!
.....
This land was made for me to own!


-Love the Government

Aw, and I was going to take my kids to GarbageLand when it opened...

Good riddance! I'm glad the county stepped in and did something to correct this horrible eyesore!

Why wasn't someone from the county interviewed. I think there are a lot of missing parts to this story. Also, don't you think the headline is a little inflammatory?

Does the Constitution provide that Governments and big businesses can arbitrarily seize a citizen's property? I've seen it done many times, and never yet have I seen the seizer offer the owner a fair price for their land. Why is it being done at will? Why don't you tell us the full details of the excuse used by the city to take this man's property. By the way, did the city give the cash to the man for the sale of his metal???

Do you want a junk yard right next to your home? Do you want a junk yard on main street in the nice town or city where you live? A free country still cannot allow anyone to horde junk and create an eyesore or safety hazard in an area that is not zoned for salvage and/or re-cycling of metals etc. You seem clueless as to the process which the city has gone through. Yes, we all have civil liberties and rights but there is a limit to how much junk you can horde thereby destroying my property value by creating an eyesore nextdoor. 75 loads of junk hauled away! Get a grip! Keep your junk in your garage and keep it outa my neighborhood. Remember, even you may need to sell your home someday. Who is going to buy your home next to a huge collectiom of trash?

This ought to scare the crap out of everyone.

Did I wake up this morning in Communist China?

Where the heck am I...I can't be in America.

This guy sounds just a little wacko. Sounds like he might not be 100% "there." Sounds like Magna took advantage of a guy who coudn't do for himself.

Free property...The rest of us pay for ours, but it sounds like some people in Magna have found a way to get it for free...Find a place with a little junk. Don't help the guy clean it up, nope. Condemn the land, and take it away.

Did they find any toxic chemicals...NOPE

Did they find any old military unexploded ordinance...NOPE

Did they find any rotting corpses...NOPE

They found the guys old stuff. Mostly metal. I have a scrap load of metal of different sizes and shapes I use for welding. I go out and cut the piece I need for whatever project I am working on. It is worth thousands in weight, and getting more valuable as the markets tumble.

Do I need to worry about waking up one day, and losing my house and home?

This story should outrage everyone in America. Holy Cow!

Are you two previous commenters kidding? He *wasn't* building, and in more than two decades of piling up junk he hadn't taken the first steps toward building. He was never going to be able to build -- nor would he ever have the money to repair any of his collected junk. Broken tractor parts? Frayed gloves? That's only the beginning of the trash he piled up here.

Meanwhile, for a generation, we have been living with the rats and insects he attracted, and our children have been at risk from injury and disease. (What kid can resist an unfenced junkyard, no matter how strict his parents are?)

He didn't have a dream, or even a fantasy. He has a delusion! And the rest of us have paid the price.

The property was condemned, both for the hazard it was and because he couldn't or wouldn't pay the fines that had accumulated as high as his junk piles. He forfeited his property just the same as I would if I didn't pay my taxes or other obligations to the state, after many years and many opportunities to set things right.

Save your bleeding hearts for a situation that deserves it!!

How about if this guy takes over the new Salt Lake City Library and give the city two weeks to get rid of all of the books, then recycles any books not cleared out. If we like it, we take it? Imminent Domain is being abused. What did the county pay him for taking his dream?

Not knowing all the details, it is easy to pile on the County here. Disgusting, heavy-handed, tyrannical. Perhaps his property was an eyesore and the County had good intentions about cleaning up the street. But the ends do not justify the means. Was this the only suitable location for a library? Was condemnation really necessary? It is situations like these that shed light on the Founder's original impulse to include property ownership as an unalienable right. Corroon and the County Council have some explaining to do.

Sounds like Mr. Killpack had a dream, but no funds or realistic plans to carry out his dream. That's what's called a junk pile. If he had a case, he'd be able to hire an attorney. It's almost too late now.

This isn't a free country. We have certain rules and Kilpatrick stepped over some zoning ones with his city. That is why he had the fines.

However, the city should have to pay in full for its thievery. It took this guy's land and his junk and also some very valuable antiques it would seem. It is simply wrong to take someone's property because they won't give it to you for a fraction of its value.

I agree with Mike and nottyou. How is that the state can just seize his property? Unless he isn't paying his property taxes I see no reason for the state to be able to come in and force him out. Like Mike mentioned, this is a free country and this man should be able to collect his treasure or someone elses "junk" on his property if he so desires. AND what about the antiques the state found on his property? The state thinks they can just auction them off and keep the money for their debt? Come on! These are his items and this whole situation is wrong. Right now I am disappointed to be a Utahn for this reason. Shame on you city/county government!!

I love Magna!

Despite the charge of the guy collecting what apparently most others perceived as junk, still, it seems rather opportunistic of the county to force the sale, and pay for the clean up with fines against the guy, lessening his equity.

Of course, your "liberal" friends on the Supreme Court (NOT the conservative ones), would back up the usurper (the county), as they did a year or two ago. They are the communist/Marxist people who would do that.

This man has been wronged!

I'm sorry I don't have the money to hire an attorney for him.

Did anyone take a look at the accompanying photographs to the article? Everything looked like junk with nothing that would be attractive for any museum, unless it was a landfill.

Sounds like the county and the neighbors have been putting up with this for years!! The photos proved that this is a public nuisance and the law was followed to take care of the problem. Yes, I support personal land ownership without the threat of government intrusion, but I also believe in personal responsibility to ensure our rights don't trample on the rights of our neighbors.

The owner should have recycled these things himself and could have benefited from the money himself instead of fighting the duty to be civically responsible.

'Property condemned after Mr. K failed to negotiate a sale'. If he did want to sell his property he shouldn't be forced to. Iminant domain law comes to mind. By law when a government wants a property they have to pay the the person fair market value as well as enough to help them re-locate elsewhere.

What the county did was underhanded. I know of a lot of places in the valley that are 'eye sores' but they haven't be condemned, but then again the county doesn't want those properties for their fancy library do they.

I thought that Utah was a part of the US of A but more and more it is begining to look like it is its own little country. Federal Laws don't apply to people living in Utah unless it is to the convience of the state, county or local government.

The supreme court has ruled. Basically any Government, from locall to Federal can take anyones 'private property' for any reason they can dream up.

My thoughts are this man has defied the laws and rules of the City of Magna. He has been fined and never paid the fees. I would not be happy living in that area with all the toxic junk and just the "eyesore" it is. It deflates property value and who wants varmints, etc. in your neighborhood. I know he had a dream 20+ years? Come on, it was just a dream or something would have come of it. It tooks many manhours and gas to haul off that junk so unfortunately because of the expense he did not receive compensation. He refused to work with the city and that says to me it was just a dream no reality attached to it. I'm surprised the City allowed him to go on like this for 20 years. Someone wasn't paying attention or didn't want to or actually, didn't care about the surrounding neighbor's safety or property value. Someone dropped the ball and he shouldn't get away from the lack of. I feel sorry for the man but this is a free country and with it comes rules and regulations to keep it free. The city did right.