City Council Member Is Accused of Blocking New Housing by Demanding $5 Million for Small Strip of Land

Developers in Buckeye, AZ, are eyeing a plan to build hundreds of affordable housing units in the city, but they say there's just one problem: longtime local Councilman Tony Youngker.Youngker's family homestead is sitting on a plot of land smack in the middle of the proposed 375-unit project, and its developer, Dominium, says Youngker is asking an outrageous sum for the property: $5 million.Mark Lambing, vice president and project partner at Dominium, told the local NBC affiliate, KPNX-TV, that Dominium needs about 30 feet of Youngker's land to create a right-of-way into the development."The city has a right to that land per a development agreement for free, but they've refused to exercise that right," he said. Rather than negotiate a deal for the small sliver of land, Youngker has allegedly demanded the developer purchase his entire property for the $5 million sum.Youngker's homestead, which sits on 2.25 acres, has a Realtor.com® estimated value of $587,524—though Dominium appraised the property at around $650,000—about 13% of Youngker's alleged $5 million asking price.Lambing says he's willing to negotiate but believes that $5 million is an outrageous leap.Complicating the scenar...