[Winona Online Democracy] Paul Double asked a lot of questions in his post about eminent domain in the aftermath of the recent Kelo v. New London Supreme Court case. The case has attracted a lot well-deserved attention to the issues of community aspirations, economic development, public good, and private property rights. My answers to Paul's questions (on behalf of all you Winonans) are mostly "Yes, maybe, depending." I am assuming from Paul's tone and his previous posts that his answers would be mostly "No, of course not!"
A useful analogy is surgery. Don't ever cut your flesh - unless of course there's a good reason to - then go ahead quickly, carefully, and intelligently. Same with eminent domain - don't ever take someone's property, unless of course you need to for some large community issue. Economic development can be one of those issues - that is what the Supreme Court said in New London. I have practiced city planning and been involved in dozens of eminent domain cases in the last 29 years, testifying in front of condemnation hearings and district court juries, mostly on behalf of private property owners. I have taught seminars and made conference presentations on planning, zoning, and development issues for most of those 29 years, several a year, to city staff, planning commissioners, city council members, county board members, and town board members (that is of course when the elected decision makers actually show up - mostly they send their staff and appointed representatives, assuming they themselves know it all already). I also teach part of a course every other year as an adjunct faculty member at the University of St. Thomas on developing concept plans in eminent domain cases. The New London case has attracted attention because it appears to many to go too far in allowing cities to snatch someone's private home and turn it over to a greedy developer. As in most high-level legal rulings, the details are more complex and the judgments not so easy. But on the basis of an emotional appeal, Winona (or any other city) should not avoid using its power of eminent domain, simply because a few people are victims or are in the way of larger plans. On the contrary I would urge Winona (and most other cities) to have clearer and more detailed visions of what they want and go after them confidently, carefully, aggressively, if need be. Too often cities are reactive vs. proactive, and play catch up to development projects that bully their way into the landscape (poster child: Wal Mart). In the shadow of the New London case everyone needs to take a deep breath and realize that each state can set limits on what constitutes a public purpose and the use of eminent domain, and each city can do likewise. To assume the sky is falling because one community in Connecticut had a grand scheme and actually implemented it is overreaching. Winona can do likewise. You should have grand visions, clear plans, and implementation steps that might include eminent domain takings in certain situations. We undergo minor and major surgeries all the time on our own bodies with less hoopla. Phil Carlson, Mpls P.S. The issue of selling park land is a little different, and I'm not sure why it is in Paul's post. If a city takes land for one purpose (park) and then turns around and sells it immediately for private development, that is wrong. Is this happening in Winona? Conditions change over time, and no city should be bound to keep every square foot of public land public forever. The city should have a clear plan for providing adequate public park land at all times - but this plan might include different elements at different times, contracting here, expanding there. ---------------------------- -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Paul Double Sent: Friday, July 15, 2005 9:11 AM To: Online Democracy Subject: [Winona] Should Eminent Domain be used in Winona other than forroads & utilities? [Winona Online Democracy] The recent Supreme Court in New London, Connecticut opened the door for more government control over the rights of property owners. Now Washington DC wants big box stores and is willing to use eminent domain to achieve it --- see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/11/AR2005071101 488.html The question is --- should it be used in Winona and what is acceptable? Should it be used to sell park lands to developers for residential or commercial developments? Should low taxable property be taken for the development of condos? Can the political will of any council be the controlling factor to preserve or destroy historic properties? Can and should it be used to shut down one business because it doesn't fit the image or that could be replaced by something which would generate higher property taxes? Can if be used to force a property owner to spend substantial funds to fit the picture or model and if you don't to seize your property to sell it to someone who will? This ruling opened a can of worms that could affect you and your vision of the potential power of local government that could be used to change a community into anything those in power desire and are pushed by a small but driven group of supporters. Do you see it coming to river city??? Are you a player, a pawn or a spectator? Paul Double _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
