FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A years-long battle over eminent domain came to a head at a Central Fresno tile shop, where A&T Ceramic ground to a halt as the City of Fresno took possession.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know how they own it,” Art Terzian told Action News. “I didn’t get a red penny from them.”<\/p>\n
Art has owned A&T Ceramic for 40 years, near McKinley and Blackstone Avenues. It is where the city is making room for a new railroad crossing.<\/p>\n
The project aims to increase safety by lowering the roadway below two railway crossings at an intersection notorious for deaths.<\/p>\n
The construction has left the family business boarded up.<\/p>\n
“Right now, we can’t operate,” Art’s son, Tony, said. “We don’t have a place to operate from.”<\/p>\n
Tony was inside the store on October 17.<\/p>\n
“A customer had just left, and then I noticed some police officers came in, and told us that the City of Fresno wants to change the locks, and you need to leave the property so they can do that,” Tony said.<\/p>\n
He showed Action News the locks that were drilled out and cut. He says the police ordered him out within minutes.<\/p>\n
All their tile remains locked inside.<\/p>\n
“Over $3 million,” Art said about the value of his inventory.<\/p>\n
“We’ve offered to pay for his inventory to be moved somewhere else, and they haven’t taken us up on that,” Fresno City Council President Mike Karbassi said.<\/p>\n
He confirms officials have made repeated offers, telling Action News they have tried to reach common ground with the Terzians for months.<\/p>\n
“When you resist and resist and resist, it’s going to be a harder process,” Karbassi said. “I get where he’s coming from, but at the same time, there is a public benefit from this.”<\/p>\n
The back-and-forth is now playing out in court. The Terzians want the city to buy them a new property.<\/p>\n
“Is it over now?” Action News asked. “No, it’s not,” Art said.<\/p>\n
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