property rights lost

[chelidon]

Pay attention to this one if you're a property owner, or may be someday. What it essentially says is that your local government can seize your property at any time, for any reason they deem sufficient, including because a developer wants what you have. Aside from the injustice issues (and I agree with O'Conner in her dissent), this makes it all the more important to pick a place to live where you trust your local government, if at all possible.

Full story: High court OKs personal property seizures (subhed: Majority: Local officials know how best to help cities)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- -- The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses -- even against their will -- for private economic development.

It was a decision fraught with huge implications for a country with many areas, particularly the rapidly growing urban and suburban areas, facing countervailing pressures of development and property ownership rights.

The 5-4 ruling represented a defeat for some Connecticut residents whose homes are slated for destruction to make room for an office complex. They argued that cities have no right to take their land except for projects with a clear public use, such as roads or schools, or to revitalize blighted areas.

As a result, cities have wide power to bulldoze residences for projects such as shopping malls and hotel complexes to generate tax revenue.

Comments

[phryday.livejournal.com]

oh not good, not good at all. i already figure we lost to eminent domain when we're forced to pay property tax and not doing so will result in the loss of one's house however, we generally knew what the limits were.

in growing areas (austin during the boom, for example) local governments can change on a whim (3-year terms here with a max of 2 or 3 terms; i forgot) so one still may not be safe.

[chelidon.livejournal.com]

Ugh. As you say, not good. I've fought some zoning battles, as a part of very motivated citizens groups, hired good lawyers, the whole shebang (not just as a private citizen, which is even more hopeless), and learned the very clear lesson that the system is already heavily skewed towards the developers and whomever is bringing the most money into the picture for the city or town. In most cases, the zoning boards give whatever the developers want to them, unless you can prove their new development will result in a plague that wipes out all life on earth, and even then, with enough money...

I am reminded of the old Zen saying that the best protection against theft is not an iron rod, but poverty. The best protection against eminent domain issues is to be off the radar (not be in a high-growth area), and, if at all possible (and sometimes it is not), to have a local government which is made up of actual citizens, not politicians.

Property tax and user fees are just about the only sources of government income out here (no state income tax, no state sales tax), so I'm used to paying a hefty property tax, but I can't complain much there -- I still come out way ahead on the overall tax burden, and almost all of that tax money stays local to my small town which is essentially prohibited from having closed-door meetings, so I can have a pretty direct impact on how it's spent -- very different from my time in the D.C. area.

We first ran across one another through Dave and Amy, but you're in Austin? It seems like every third person I meet lately (or old friends I run across from years ago) is in Austin. Nifty! I was out there for a week and a half about 2 months ago, and will be back out there from time to time. Looks like you know Content, too? Small world!

[phryday.livejournal.com]

Once when I got in trouble in the military a friend was asking how I took it so well and all I could come up with is they can't take away my birthday. When I was homeless once they couldn't take away my ambition, pride, or anything else. Still, I'd rather not ever be homeless again so sadly the best protection against theft is poverty, but they don't deserve it.

As much as I gripe about any taxes, I'll pay 'em although I just don't like the concept of the "public" taking away my house if I need to protest in that respect (we'll have 6 different property taxing bodies when the new law we passed takes effect). Add the factor of "public" good for a private company and I wonder when we'll start seeing businesses start pushing more for the land grabs.

Yep, through Amy and Dave and I had to do a double-take when you posted a response in Content's journal. Hopefully we can hook up when you're down here again!