LAKEWOOD, Wash. — A Lakewood man is fighting to keep his home after the city ordered it to be condemned and demolished to make way for a parking lot that's part of a plan to improve access to Lake Steilacoom.
When Ebrahim Mirjalili first bought his home in 2009, he said he couldn’t move in immediately. He said the property, which sits along Steilacoom Lake, required quite a few renovations, and his family wasn’t able to move into the home until 2012. However, he said he’s proud of the work he put into the property.
"This is our home,” Mirjalili said. “It’s our place of rest, our place of security. This is what we’ve worked for all of our lives. This is what we’ve earned.”
Now a potential plan from the city of Lakewood may force Mirjalili and his family to leave it behind.
He said his fight with the city began when he built a fence to safeguard his property after repeated break-ins and thefts.
“We tried to do something for our own security that the city was unwilling to do,” Mirjalili claimed. “In 2013, we asked them to put a streetlight here on the street…they said they didn’t have the budget.”
That fence led to a dispute on where Mirjalili’s property ended and the city’s began.
Meanwhile, the city said its plans for the property began much earlier. In 2019, the city of Lakewood announced plans to upgrade Edgewater Park with a parking lot planned for the southern tip, right where Mirjalili’s home is located. Proposed upgrades also include improved boat launch access, according to the city.
The city said the plan is still in its early stages, but Mirjalili’s property encroaches on three public rights of way and a section of public property. In a statement, the city said land surveys show that about one-third of the home structure is on public land.
Mirjalili said he hired three different surveyors to clear up the issue, and none found that the city had the right to his property.
“The maps that they have don’t make sense,” Mirjalili said. “It’s like somebody picked up the [parcel lines] from one area and moved it somewhere else.”
The dispute ended up in court in February, where a judge ruled that the city of Lakewood is within its rights to enact eminent domain to take Mirjalili’s property for public use.
After the court ruling, the city said it reached an agreement with Mirjalili to take possession of the home on July 1.
According to court documents, the city offered Mirjalili $250,000 for his property, but public records show its tax-assessed value is more than $1.3 million. The city disputed the value of the home, saying the house does not meet code requirements due to non-permitted additions and renovations and likely is not marketable in its current condition. The city also said the tax-assessed value does not take into account that "much" of the land that Mirjalili is occupying is publicly owned.
"By law, the city can’t give away publicly owned land," the city said in a statement. "That means the city cannot give Dr. Mirjalili the land, regardless of how long he used the public property, including lake frontage, as his private property."
The city said a mediation will take place in late April to discuss compensation. Mirjalili said he has legal counsel and plans to do whatever he can to keep his home.
“This is an overreach and abuse of power,” he said. “It is our duty to stand up and say, no this should not happen, because if it happens to me today, it could happen to you tomorrow.”
The city's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board is expected to submit its recommendation on a park proposal to the Lakewood City Council in April.