Woman challenges Arlington County to keep family home [Video]

A Maryland woman is preparing to challenge Arlington County in court in order to prevent officials from acquiring property that has belonged to her family for decades. But county officials say they have the right to take the property in order to build safety improvements to nearby roads. 

Sandra Fortson was offered $627,000 by Arlington County to purchase land at 1802 Columbia Pike in the Arlington View community. Fortson is the guardian of the homeowner, her cousin Karen Newman, who is currently at a nursing home after she suffered a medical emergency in 2021.

In a March meeting, the county staff told supervisors that acquiring the land would make way for much-needed traffic and pedestrian safety improvements at Rolfe Street and Columbia Pike, which includes adding a traffic light and realigning the road into a four-leg intersection.

The county recommended the board …