Welcome to the Future!
Entity that exercized its power of eminent domain? The City of Youngtown, Ohio
The statutory authority to take a residential property: The City of Youngstown has the authority to use eminent domain by a spot blight taking that allows an individual property to be taken via eminent domain.
Was the property occuppied? No, it was abandoned by the 2nd previous owner, and purchased by Harbour Portfolio Advisors at a foreclosure sale
Which entity rehabilitated the property for resale? The Youngstow…
The City: Littleton, CO & Wheat Ridge, CO
The voter approval requirement: To access urban renewal tools like tax increment financing or eminent domain require urban renewal
What did a district court in Colorado do with Wheat Ridge’s Ordinance? The Wheat Ridge ordinance, related to mandating that any tax-increment financing package over $2.5 million first get the consent of voters, is pre-empted by Colorado’s supremacy on the issue.
What’s the city’s argument: voter approval will cost time…
The mayor of West Haven, CT lost his primary race to a city council person.
Some say the surprising loss was due to a redevelopment project that utilized eminent domain.
What factors concerning the project using eminent domain were deemed harmful to the mayor’s campaign?
Lessons:
Schedule demolition…
Mesa, AZ wants to reduce blight. To do that, it created a redevelopment zones- East and West Redevelopment Areas.
Why redevelopment zones? The designations trigger access to tax breaks & other incentives to attract investment and infill development
What does Arizona law require to trigger blight tax incentives? That a redevelopment district must exhibit a predominance of blighted conditions
East Valley Tribune | Mesa creates redevelopment zones to reverse blight
Large portions of city of Highland, Illinois is blighted, which translates to the city will create 3 business districts.
The economic benefit of the 3 business districts will be:
Emails, notes, and text messages document collusion between a city and a developer according to attorneys for home owners.
The emails, notes, and text messages reveal that city inspectors were sent in to enforce city code, and in lieu of issuing fines, home owners were given the choice of selling their land to a developer.
The emails, notes and text messages go on to reveal that boarded up homes will drive down prices. The city can use eminent domain to acquire the homes and then the…
A blight study determined portions of “downtown” Muskogee, OKlahoma are blighted. The sstudy was requested by the city as a means to trigger economic development tools for redevelopment.
The local paper supports th fidning of blight in downtown.
Muskogee Phoenix | EDITORIALLY SPEAKING: ‘Blight’ study critical to downtown
State: Tennessee
The eminent domain prohibition: no eminent domain for industrial parks. The Tennessee statute set forth examples of projects that constitute public use, the bill deleted industrial parks from the list.
The legislation: Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1184
The Standard Banner | New law prohibits eminent domain for industrial parks
Knoxville News Sentinel | Eminent domain reform protects farmers
What’s happening in Georgia?
Atlanta Constitution Journal | Watchdog: Georgia bill lets cities take blighted land for developers