Demolition Derby: How Macon-Bibb County Bulldozed The Constitution

Eric Arnold, an experienced carpenter and home renovator, was lovingly restoring a fixer-upper in Macon-Bibb County, Georgia, for his children and grandchildren. Little did he know the county was about to give his house an extreme makeover, courtesy of its overzealous code enforcement department and “blight fight” campaign.

After devoting thousands of dollars to cleaning up the property, Eric discovered his house had been secretly marked for demolition when a demolition company tried to place a dumpster on his front lawn. He told the driver that there must have been some mistake; he had never been contacted by the county or received any notice that there was a problem with his property. Even though the home was actively under construction, the repairs at this point were mostly internal. The once-overgrown yard was now cleared, materials and supplies were stored inside, and the property was in better shape than many others in the neighborhood. Even the driver who delivered the dumpster was confused, telling Eric the house was “too clean” for demolition.

Eric then raced from county office to county office trying to save his property. Although county officials confirmed that a demolition permit had been issued for Eric’s house, no one could explain why—or provide any information about how to stop the process. Instead, he was met with hostility and conflicting instructions, including an inaccurate claim that he needed to become a licensed contractor to repair his own home. None of his repairs required a license or a permit, but he nonetheless applied for both and reviewed his plans with code enforcement officers—who told him he’d better hurry up and refused to take the house off the demolition list. 

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Instead, county officials secretly sped up the demolition process in retaliation for Eric’s pleas. Early one morning when Eric was away, his neighbor called him in a panic: Nearly a dozen code enforcement officers with guns and demolition equipment were assembled on Eric’s property. By the time Eric arrived, his house was reduced to rubble.

Ordinarily, if government officials want to force someone to tear down a building, they have to go to court. There, the property owner can present evidence in their defense, and a judge has the final say. If the court finds that there’s a nuisance, it can order the property owner to abate it, whether by improvement or demolition, and supervise that process. But Macon-Bibb’s code enforcement regime bypasses this system entirely. Instead of proving that a property is a nuisance in court, the mayor has unilateral power to designate a home for destruction and stick the homeowner with the bill.

Eric is not alone. Macon-Bibb County has leveled more than 800 homes in just over three years, celebrating grim demolition milestones along the way—even gifting the mayor a brick from the 700th house torn down without due process. So Eric and IJ sued Macon-Bibb County not only for compensation for his own house but to prohibit the county from secretly knocking down any more houses without first giving property owners their day in court. 

This case isn’t just about one man’s house; it’s about laying a foundation for all Americans’ rights to due process and to contact government officials free from retaliation. Together, we’ll show Macon-Bibb County that respecting the Constitution is the only blueprint for success.

Christie Hebert is an IJ attorney.