The Kelo decision

Update: A new blog (dang, why don't I ever think if this stuff!) is tracking eminent domain and Kelo-related issues:  Eminent Domain Watch (h/t Michelle Malkin)

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If you own your home then you should be furious about this.

The Kelo v. New London decision involves the city of New London, Connecticut, and a group of local residents whose property was re-zoned by the city for commercial use.  After re-zoning the land, the city officials decided to let private commercial developers bulldoze the residential housing and replace it with an office complex.  Home owners were furious, and a group of seven refused to leave, deciding instead to take the city to court. 

The case found its way to the US Supreme court, which ruled 5-4 yesterday that governments should be allowed the right to seize private land for commercial developments such as shopping malls and sports complexes.  This decision flies in the face of long-standing "eminent domain" legal precedents, which allowed government entities to seize private land only for projects that were strictly for public use (such as parks or highways) or designed to stop urban blight (such as the demolition of abandoned buildings). 

Jay Tea at WizBang Blog has a pretty good essay about the 5th Amendment origins of eminent domain, and why this decision is a travesty.  John Hinderaker at PowerLine Blog says that we shouldn't be surprised at the decision, since smaller decisions have been trending this way for several years.  And the always-resourceful Rev. Donald Sensing says that, because they often occupy prime real estate and pay no city taxes, municipal governments will start aggressively targeting churches now.

And just guess which side the Washington Post and New York Times agreed with.  (Hint: it's not the homeowners.)

In all honesty here, the Supreme Court is not saying that cities should be allowed to seize unlimited amounts of private property at will; rather, the decision defers the responsibility for property seizures back to local municipalities, claiming that they are best suited to make decisions regarding the use of property in their jurisdictions.  So it is technically possible to negate this ruling by having your local city, county, or state pass a law that forbids the seizure of property except for clear public use or urban blight.  But the Court will not prohibit the confiscation of private property for commercial development, and their ruling effectively wipes out the courts as a venue for citizens to fight municipal governments.  I believe it will also establish a precedent for appeals courts to knock down any public referendum or legislation that tries to limit the power of government to seize private property.

Everyone who owns a home will suffer thanks to this decision.  Property values will sink like rocks in urban areas that have been earmarked by city governments as desirable areas for re-development.  Pity the poor homeowners who are forced to watch their equity vanish, and then suffer the double injustice of having to watch their homes bulldozed and replaced with a football stadium or a multiplex cinema.

Of course cities will make out like bandits, reaping huge tax revenues from new businesses and getting away with paying homeowners depressed prices that may be only pennies on the dollar relative to the value of similar housing that is not in an area slated to be bulldozed. 

I don't have a problem with cities developing land and bringing revenue into the community.  But I have a real problem with displacing families and destroying homes in order to do so.  There's got to be a better way than this, folks.

Comments

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The Kelo decision was a very tricky one for most of the people who were involved.

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You are correct on your point about family issues. i think you have done a good on on this issue.

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The real twist started when the case went to US Supereme Court....Very nice and amazing post...thanks alot for sharing with all of us...