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January 22, 2007
EMINENT DOMAINIA
NJEminentDomain.com, Eminent Domain: Bloomfield and Forest City cease efforts to acquire two properties
Two properties have been saved from Bruce Ratner's attempts to use eminent domain to build a shopping center in Bloomfield, NJ.
Other plaintiffs in the Lardieri et al v. Bloomfield Township lawsuit remain at risk, and they will pursue a prerogative writ case to overturn the blight designation of their properties. The township has requested an additional 30 days to file their answer, and the case has been assigned for trial to Essex County Assignment Judge Patricia Costello. Judge Costello issued an opinion in 110 Washington Street v. Township of Bloomfield. This decision has been upheld unanimously by the Appellate Division and the New Jersey Supreme Court denied certification on November 17, 2006.
The Newark Star-Ledger, Line drawn in the sand on eminent domain
Like NY State, NJ is regarded as one of the worst states for eminent domain abuse, though state officials seem to be trying to clean up their act:
The backlash against towns seizing small businesses and houses to further large-scale, private development has been gaining strength nationwide, but in New Jersey the use of eminent domain appears to be coming to a head in the oceanfront resort of Long Branch.
A group of homeowners has been fighting the city's effort to take their land in court for about three years, but in recent weeks powerful forces joined the battle and have turned it into a legal showdown.
State Public Advocate Ron Chen -- with the firm support of Gov. Jon Corzine -- took the side of the property owners. The state League of Municipalities, which frequently points to Long Branch as a shining example of the good eminent domain can do -- is weighing in on the city's side.
NoLandGrab: In stark constrast, NYC Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, who has pretty much been missing in action since being re-elected in 2005, stated during a televised debate, "It’s not my understanding that the developer at Atlantic Yards is going to use eminent domain.” Since being relected, she has no further comment on the use of eminent domain at Atlantic Yards.
NY Sun, via europaconcorsi.com, New York - Great Cities Need Great Builders
Harvard professor Edward Glaeser makes a suggestion about how NY State should go about eminent domain in his second look at the Robert Moses legacy:
But I hope that eminent domain in the post-Bloomberg era will become much fairer than it was during the era of Robert Moses. The state should develop better legal infrastructure to oversee takings. Perhaps there should be a state-level commission, independent of local government, with both elected and appointed members, that can subject each use of eminent domain to cost-benefit analysis and determine just compensation for the evicted. The right response to Moses's excesses is not to renounce eminent domain, but to strengthen the process so that it can play its needed role.
NoLandGrab: Glaeser is quick to point to Moses's excesses, but in recent editorials has supported Atlantic Yards and extreme density and has kept mum about the use of eminent domain.
Capital Press Agricultural Weekly, Courts pave over paradise on farm land
A Washington state court upheld a notification of an eminent domain seizure that appeared on a state agency's web site, without mentioning the names of the property owners or even the address of the desired parcel.
The opening anecdote sets up the article, which explains why farmland is at risk in the wake of last year's Supreme Court Kelo ruling.
Welcome to the world of eminent domain and why it has angered and caught the attention of the agricultural community across America.
Farmers are learning the hard way such terms as eminent domain and condemnation. Originally, those terms were usually reserved for when governments needed low-valued or blighted property to meet its needs for public use.
But then the Kelo court case at the U.S. Supreme Court level determined that a government could condemn "underutilized" private land for other private parties and developments. More jobs and higher tax revenue could be used as reasons to condemn land.
At the time, there were warnings this could mean farmland would be threatened.
The Journal-News, Listen now: Eminent domain plaintiff, TV blogger on Phil Reisman's radio show
Bart Didden, whose Port Chester eminent domain case was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court this week, discusses his reaction on Journal News/LoHud.com columnist Phil Reisman’s weekly radio show, “High Noon,” on the air now.
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"High Noon" airs from noon to 1 p.m. on WVOX 1460 AM.Listen live now at www.wvox.com.
Posted by lumi at January 22, 2007 8:45 AM