To the editor:

Are you paying taxes on undeveloped property you can neither build on nor sell?

It has happened to me and probably many more in the Suffolk area. I own a lot on Darden Lane in Eclipse that has been in my family since 1952, with our family cemetery adjacent to the lot. I was considering building a home on the lot only to find out I can’t. City officials tell me that you cannot build on an unimproved road that is not paved.

Taxes have been paid on this property for 66 years, and they tell me I can’t build! If I can’t build on it, neither can anyone else. Therefore, selling the lot is pretty much out of the question.

The same city official politely informed me that I could quit paying taxes on the property and donate it to the city. Something isn’t right in Sherwood Forest, folks. There are four more lots adjacent to mine in the same predicament. Darden Clubhouse Road has never been constructed or improved; therefore, it has never been accepted by the city of Suffolk and is considered a paper street.

If the city improved this road, these lots would become buildable and the tax base would become much higher as families build homes on these lots. It would be a win-win for everyone.

Rebecca H. Belvin

Suffolk