The U.S. Supreme Court's infamous decision in Kelo v. City of New London turns ten on June 23. Kelo held that "public use" covers any potential public benefit. To celebrate the anniversary, the Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece- titled Lessons from a Little Pink House, 10 Years Later by Ilya Somin reflecting on Kelo and its impact.
The lasting image of Kelo is the little pink house owned by Susette Kelo. Ms. Kelo opposed the City of New London's planned acquisition of her property (along with 15 others). The City condemned the properties for "economic development." After acquiring the properties, the City planned to transfer the properties to a developer who would revitalize the area. The City argued that the "public use" was the impact of the area's "revitalization" on the general public (i.e. taxes, taxes, taxes).
Today, the area that New London so desperately wanted to "revitalize" (they litigated this to the Supreme Court!!!)-- sits vacant (with the exception of a few feral cats as humorously noted by Ms. Somin). It is undoubtedly a black mark and black pit on the community as the vacant land serves as a constant reminder of all that is wrong with strong arming and overreaching.
In response, the mayor of New London wants to turn the vacant land into a "memorial" park to all those residents adversely affected by eminent domain. While the park may somehow ease hard feeling of its residents after years of abuse by New London, the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo actually led to State and local governments pushing back against the exact type of overreaching eminent domain abuse authorized by Kelo.
As Ms. Somin notes, since 2005, 45 states have passed laws reforming eminent domain. Some have been more stringent than others. One of those states was Wisconsin, who passed 2005 Act 33 redefining "blight." In addition, the Wisconsin legislature outlawed the transfer of non-blighted land to private developers in 2006.
The Wisconsin definition of "blighted" is still quite broad. This has tempted some municipalities to try to shoe-horn properties into a "blighted" designation. One of the more high profile attempts at this blight-shoe horn maneuver was by the City of Oak Creek in 2010.
The lasting image of Kelo is the little pink house owned by Susette Kelo. Ms. Kelo opposed the City of New London's planned acquisition of her property (along with 15 others). The City condemned the properties for "economic development." After acquiring the properties, the City planned to transfer the properties to a developer who would revitalize the area. The City argued that the "public use" was the impact of the area's "revitalization" on the general public (i.e. taxes, taxes, taxes).
Today, the area that New London so desperately wanted to "revitalize" (they litigated this to the Supreme Court!!!)-- sits vacant (with the exception of a few feral cats as humorously noted by Ms. Somin). It is undoubtedly a black mark and black pit on the community as the vacant land serves as a constant reminder of all that is wrong with strong arming and overreaching.
In response, the mayor of New London wants to turn the vacant land into a "memorial" park to all those residents adversely affected by eminent domain. While the park may somehow ease hard feeling of its residents after years of abuse by New London, the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo actually led to State and local governments pushing back against the exact type of overreaching eminent domain abuse authorized by Kelo.
As Ms. Somin notes, since 2005, 45 states have passed laws reforming eminent domain. Some have been more stringent than others. One of those states was Wisconsin, who passed 2005 Act 33 redefining "blight." In addition, the Wisconsin legislature outlawed the transfer of non-blighted land to private developers in 2006.
The Wisconsin definition of "blighted" is still quite broad. This has tempted some municipalities to try to shoe-horn properties into a "blighted" designation. One of the more high profile attempts at this blight-shoe horn maneuver was by the City of Oak Creek in 2010.