Municiple land grab in Fort Trumbull
2005.08.19 – unbelievable. Now they want to charge the residents rent in the Kelo V. New London case.
2005.06.24 – a few of the recent headlines and more interesting arguments in the case of Kelo v. City of New London that I've read today.
We live under a regime that can and often does grab our homes and small businesses to create what politicians call "economic development." The process is simple: the government takes our property, pays us what it thinks the property's worth, and then hands our property — in finely crafted "sweetheart deals" — to developers and big corporations that will produce greater tax revenue. – Paul Jacob, townhall.com
U.S. Supreme Court Undermines 5th Amendment
Gives right to government to take property if there's enough money involved - Dakota Voice
As a result, cities now have wide power to bulldoze residences for projects such as shopping malls and hotel complexes in order to generate tax revenue. – WFSB.com
Five justices concurred, and in so doing have put every square inch of private property in this country at the disposal of local officials. It cannot be said too strongly enough or repeated too often: Kelo v. New London struck a near-fatal blow to property rights in this country.
Local officials, legal scholars and pundits will say we are engaging in needless hyperbole. Hardly. With the court's ruling in its back pocket, all a city or county has to do to seize private property and turn it over to private interests is to have — if we may borrow the court's words — "carefully formulated an economic development plan" that claims the new owners will generate more tax revenues.
It's not about improving an area, as even Justice John Paul Stevens, in writing for the majority, admitted: "There is no allegation that any of these properties is blighted or otherwise in poor condition; rather, they were condemned only because they happen to be located in the development area." – Investors.com
Supreme Court Rules Cities May Seize Homes
At least eight states _ Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, South Carolina and Washington _ forbid the use of eminent domain for economic development unless it is to eliminate blight. Other states either expressly allow private property to be taken for private economic purposes or have not spoken clearly to the question.
– By MATT APUZZO, WashingtonPost.com