A Renton man has received a response from the city after seeking reparations in August 2024 related to a decades-old eminent domain case.

John Houston, whose family sold their home in 1968 to the Renton School District for $44,630.24, said the home was sold under the threat of eminent domain and the planned middle school for the site was never constructed. He also said two house fires and an explosion on the family’s porch were meant to pressure the family into selling.

At a Renton City Council meeting on Aug. 5, 2024, Houston addressed the council, seeking reparations. The council directed the city to research Houston’s concerns.

In a report of the findings of the investigation released May 19, the city staff said they found no information on the house fires and the cause of the fires. The report also said the property was not in the city’s jurisdiction for law enforcement or fire investigation at the time of the fires.

Other findings, according to the report:

• The 10-acre property did not appear to have had legal condemnation action through a court process from the purchase and sale agreement.

• The school district sold the property to a developer for $186,675 in 1980 and no school was built on the site. The subject area, including the Houston property, was annexed into the city of Renton in June 1981. Since annexation, the city has received less than ten percent of the tax revenue, as King County collects and distributes taxes to fund city services.

• The report noted the Renton School District is a “distinct legal entity” from the city and the city has no regulatory or jurisdictional control over the school district’s property acquisitions. “While we have not extensively reviewed what protections were in place at the time of purchase, state law allows any person subject to a threat of eminent domain to challenge in court whether the property acquisition is necessary for a public purpose,” according to the report. “The agency acquiring the property must prove to the court that it intended to use it for public purposes.”

• The city lacks the legal authority to compel the school district to provide reparations, issue an apology, or take other actions. “Mr. Houston’s allegations of racial motivations are serious and warrant acknowledgement and public awareness to avoid any potentially racially motivated injustices from occurring in the future,” according to the report. “However, establishing city liability for actions by a separate entity (the school district) in 1968, before annexation, is likely legally infeasible, especially without evidence of city involvement, which our records do not indicate.”

• The report also said the city is unaware of any evidence the city has benefited financially from how the property changed hands over time. “Without evidence of city involvement or a legal mechanism to fund reparations, direct financial or restorative actions for Mr. Houston by the city are outside the city’s legal purview,” according to the report. “Eminent domain disputes are governed by state law, and any legal recourse for the Houston family would likely involve state or federal courts, not municipal action.”

Response

Houston said an article he found from the Renton Chronicle, published on Dec. 17, 1956, shows a photo of Houston’s father, George Houston, receiving a check from the Renton Community Fund by Mayor Joe Baxter. The caption also says the Houstons’ home burned down “last week.”

“City officials made sure it was front page of them giving a check for shoes showing their guy with a big smile on his face and showing the fear on my father’s and siblings’ faces,” John Houston said in an email to the Renton Reporter. “I recently thought about the fires and bombing and it’s funny how this violence stopped once RSD got the land.”

Houston then spoke at the June 2, 2025, Renton City Council meeting to express his frustration.

“To be honest with you, I’m disappointed,” Houston said. “You’re showing me that my family means nothing. That that small Black community up on that hill means nothing.”

In response to the city saying they had nothing to do with the sale of his property, Houston brought up the photo from the Renton Chronicle, which shows the city’s fire chief handing his a $50 check for shoes for the “Negro kids,” according to Houston.

“It’s not alleged. It’s not claims. Facts,” Houston said. “They didn’t get rid of all the papers.”

James Houston, John’s older brother, also spoke at the meeting and said his father had an occupational license because he couldn’t read or write.

“That stack of documents he signed with an ‘X’ when we got hoodwinked for our farm,” James said. “The city said they had nothing to do with it. The school district said we were treated fairly. My dad received less money than the other two neighbors they took land from.”

John Houston’s advocacy has led to changes at the state level, with Governor Bob Ferguson signing the Houston Eminent Domain Fairness Act into law on May 12, 2025. The new law will allow the owners of real estate taken through eminent domain by school districts, or sold under the threat of eminent domain, the opportunity to purchase the real estate back when it is not put to the intended use. The bill was unanimously supported as it passed through the Senate and House.