Highland Park ISD wants to buy land for a parking lot. They tried to buy it, but offered less than the June purchase price. The land’s owner is a developer who wants to put in town homes on the West Lovers Lane property.
This Monday Highland Park ISD Trustees approved using eminent domain, if necessary. Unless an agreement is reached, look for a lengthy legal process. [
Posted inappraisals, compensation, land use, private property rights, school
D.C. needs a stadium home for D.C. United. Its futbol, or what the world, except for the U.S., calls football. D.C. has a property swap in mind, but hesitancy in D.C. leadership leads to speculation of eminent domain. Speculators surmise that eminent domain would be more costly (lots of lawyers) and would take more time than to purchase or swap land to build a stadium. [Soccer America
A pipeline company wants to build. Accordingly, it sent landowners letters that it would be surveying land. The Appalachian landowners are unhappy. Rural mountain people upset with big corporations coming onto their land with fancy science equipment reads like a script for Deliverance 2014. Lawyers say that until there is an established common carier purpose and a public need, the pipeline cannot survey land. [
Posted inpipelines/common carriers, Pre-condemnation Access, private company
An early eminent domain bill this pre-filing season: SB 178 by Nichols prohibits the use of eminent domain for recreational purposes. Quotes from Senator Nichols: “Senate Bill 178 would prohibit state or local governments from taking private land for recreational purposes. Nichols believes eminent domain can be a last resort when considering public utility projects and other public works, but that no one’s land should be taken for bike trails or parks.” “These bills repres… 2014 has been the year of eminent domain protesting. There were farmers who planted crops to spell out their protest, a Willie Nelson rally, and old fashion protestors. Public meetings have been shut down by the fire marshall. Protestors are loud. They want their voices heard. The latest protest rally is in response to a Houston based pipeline company that wants to build a pipeline in Massachusttes. The protest brought together property rights activists, environmentalists, land o… A Florida city wanted to protect seagrasses. So, it prohibited docks to promote seagrass growth. Property owners, with riparian rights, wanted to build docks to access the water. The conflict ended up in court. Landowners went to state court seeking property right protections for their riparian rights. The city moved the suit to federal courts. The 11th Circuit held that riparian rights, state based property rights, are not protected by the US Constitution. Litigants await word fr… UT Regants had put Players on the eminent domain chopping block in 2004. Players was saved from eminent domain and UT ultimately paid fair market value for the property. The Austin Chronicle details the eminent domain challenges Players faced. [Austin Chronicle] Want to see the details of an agreement between TXDOT and a private toll company delineating the private toll companies eminent domain authority? The Texas Observer delivers. The Texas Observer also gives us this piece of trivia: “The Texas Turnpike Corporation still has eminent domain powers because it formed one day before the 1991 repeal went into effect.” [TX Observer]… Americans love their baseball. Hartford, CT loves baseball and wants to build a new minor league stadium. The city knows where they want the new stadium, but the people who own that land disagree. The city and landowners couldn’t reach an agreement to sell the land to the city. Naturally, the city is opting for eminent domain. The city proposes to take 14 pieces of private property for a total of $1.98 million. The city will then turn the land over to a developer for a $350… Texas High Speed Rail is hosting public meetings about its proposed high speed rail between Dallas and Houston. The popular topic at these meetings? Eminent Domain. Progress that the train represents is welcomed, but property owners love their land and don’t want to be separated from it. [KPRC Houston] Stadium Building: With or Without Eminent Domain
When can a pipeline survey land?
SB 178: No Eminent Domain for Parks or Bike Trails- EVER.
Protest to Stop Pipeline
NFIB Amicus Brief to US Supreme Court Supporting Riparian Property Rights
Memory Lane: Eminent Domain, UT and Players
TXDOT agreement with Private Toll Corporation Revealed
Baseball is an American Pastime. Baseball Fields Require Acres of Land.
Bullet Train to Court? Eminent Domain Meets Texas High Speed Rail