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©2001 The Blade.                                  Toledo Blade Article published June 17, 2003

Group fights Lathrop House acquisition
Sylvania residents threaten to take issue to voters

A group known as the Citizens for Sylvania said yesterday that it has more than 800 signatures on a petition opposing the use of eminent domain by the city to take the Lathrop House and its surrounding property.

Mary Westphal, a member of the group, said Sylvania City Council will be asked at its June 30 meeting to agree with the intent of the petition, or they will ask that the issue be placed on the November ballot.

The petition reads in part that the city "shall not acquire the property known as the Lathrop House property ... by appropriation" and that the council be barred from attempting any similar action for two years.

The city has filed an action in Lucas County Common Pleas Court to take the property by eminent domain, on the basis that it is a historical site that should be used as a park and for educational purposes.

They took the action after negotiations seemed to fall apart and council members said they thought that St. Joseph’s Church, which controls the property, might raze the 1830s-era house.

Mrs. Westphal, a member of St. Joseph Parish, said her group supports saving the Lathrop House - reported to have been a stop for runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad - but that it should be moved from its present location.

Earlier negotiations have revolved around moving the house about 100 yards north. Preservationists argue that the building should remain on the ravine said to have been used by escaping slaves to make their way to the sanctuary of the home.

Many of the signatures on the petition were gathered after church services Sunday.

Pamala Williams, a member of the Citizens for Sylvania, said she took the petitions to the Lucas County Board of Elections yesterday and, after they had checked about 460 of the signatures, elections officials determined that 420 were valid. The rest will be checked today, she said.

Ms. Williams added that 409 valid signatures meets the requirement of 10 percent of the votes cast in the last election to have the issue placed on the ballot.

The outcome of an election, however, will have no direct effect on the court case unless it convinces council members to dismiss the action.

Lawyers for the city and the parish have been ordered by Judge J. Ronald Bowman to submit written arguments by July 1.

If the judge rules that the city has acted legally to take the property, a jury trial will be held Aug. 25 to determine the financial compensation that is due the church. An earlier offer of $400,000 by the city was refused by the parish.

The property was bought for $350,000 on Oct. 1, 2001.