Eminent
Domain & Redevelopment
Eminent domain is the power of
government to condemn private property and convert it for public
use, as long as the owner receives reasonable compensation for
losing the property. The power is limited by the federal and state
constitutions.
Generally speaking, property can be condemned only if is to
be used for a valid governmental purpose or for protection of
the public health, safety, and welfare. Such traditional takings
have involved condemnation for roads, schools, prisons, parks,
etc.
In Kelo v. City of New London, a decision handed down
by the U.S. Supreme Court last June, the justices ruled 5-4 that
economic development is a ‘public purpose’ that legitimates
the use of the government's power of eminent domain.
The Kelo decision arose out of a situation in Connecticut
where, in 2000, after decades of economic decline, the City of
New London approved an economic development plan to revitalize
the economy by developing an area along the shore. A number of
New London citizens who lived and worked in the area designated
for renewal did not want to sell their land to the private company
that was handling the development project.
The city intervened, using its eminent domain power to override
the owners by condemning their properties and transferring them
to the private developer. No one argued that the properties being
condemned were blighted. They were simply in the way of the city’s
plans for economic development.
In Kelo’s wake, virtually every state is evaluating its
eminent domain laws. In Florida, the scrutiny has focused primarily
on safeguards against takings designed to remedy slum or blighted
areas under the Community Redevelopment Act or the home rule authority
of certain cities and counties. Those concerns have been focused
primarily on the establishment of community redevelopment agencies
(CRAs) to carry out activities within the redeveloping area.
Property rights advocates argue that current definition of ‘blight’
is so broad and so vague that private property transfers to other
private property owners can and do occur solely for economic purposes.
Litigation is ongoing in various parts of Florida concerning the
condemnation and transfer of property to private developers when
the existing owners will not voluntarily sell a piece of property
slated for economic development.
Counties, cities, and CRAs contend that the power to condemn
for economic development is a necessary tool for them to effectively
revitalize rundown areas. Private property rights advocates counter
that it is an inappropriate exercise of the eminent domain power,
and that private property should not be subject to condemnation
for transfer to private developers. |
