Local TREND. Cities Outsourcing Code Enforcement. Private Property Rights Lawsuit Emerges. Bills Drafting.

First comes private property rights lawsuits, then comes legislative reponse.

Which local government? Indio, California

What did Indio, California do exactly? A lawfirm became the city’s official prosecutor for code enforcement cases. The lawfirm’s pitch was that it wouldn’t cost the city a dime.

What’s the private property rights angle? The lawfirm’s deal with the city allows the lawfirm to bill a property owner its full legal fees in a prosecution which creates a personal financial stake…

Local Government TREND. +1 County Moves to Block High Speed Rail Eminent Domain

The County: Madison County Texas

The high speed rail project: Texas Central Partners’ Dallas to Houston High Speed Rail

What action did Madison County take to block any high speed rail eminent domain use in Texas?

county intends to maintain the roads for the use intended, and no other use

Madisonville Meteor | County takes stand on railway

Move over trees and landscaping, welcome state law preemption of fencing ordinances. Read the bill.

State: Wyoming

The bill: WY SF 107 (2018)

How would state law preempt local fence regulations?

prohibit any county or town from passing a fence ordinance that violates current WY code

What’s an example of a blocked ordinance under this bill? If an ordinance required wildlife friendly fences, which is an issue in Teton County

Jackson Hole News Guide | Proposed change to fence law is dead

5 Big Property Rights & Eminent Domain Cases in Texas. Foreshadowing 2019.

Land: Wildlife Preserve land at the Border
- Eminent Domain Use: Border Wall
- ABC 10 | Texas wildlife refuge could become fierce battleground over Trump’s proposed border wall
Land: Landowners around the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District
- Property Rights Issue: Whether landwoners with no well in an aquifer can protest a permit
- Statesman | Groundwater district appeals judge’s ruling for Bastrop landowners
Property: Deer and deer breeder licenses
- Property Rights Issue: What…

Local TREND. Blight. In lieu of fines, court for blight. 3 Points from the ordinance.

City: Southington, CT

Current Blight process: Inspector visits, most property owners cure the problem. If not, police visit and issue citations with fines.

New blight ordinance proposal:

In lieu of fines and a police visit, the proposal is to send the unremediated blight directly to housing court.
Any complaints are limited to complaints in writing.

Southington Record Journal | Southington council considers housing court for blight cases

An economic development and private property rights tie?

During discussion of a Navarro County, TX resolution designed to protect private property rights, the Economic Development director asked this question:

whether an economic impact study on the communities to be affected by the railway?

The response: No, such an economic impact study had not been undertaken.

A clarification: An economic impact study, which was released in October 2015, that showed every county touched by the project — rural and urban could receive significant, long-term tax…

3 Points from Resolution 102-2018 of the Navarro County TX Commissioners Court Protecting Private Property Rights.

Resolution 102-2018 of the Navarro County Commissioners Court seeks to protect private property rights from a high speed rail project by:

not to closing, nor relocating, any roads for Texas Central Railroad
no railway company has the authority to close roads, and “TCR is not a railway company”
the county will “decline to close ANY road for route for any railway or non-railway company.”

Mass Transit| TX: Commissioners Deny TCR Access — No County Roads Will Close

Lege Trend. Increase Compensation for Eminent Domain. Except for Cities.

Wisconsin AB 770 will “fundamentally re-write” eminent domain compensation to landowners. Here’s how:

including in compensation “reasonable project costs” like relocating & restarting your business
raise the maximum compensation amounts offered to both tenants (up tp $80K) and property owners (Up to 100K)
retain the maximum compensation caps only for citiesm towns and villages but not for private entities or state agencies

Opponents say:

great cost to state government, utilities & other…

Lege TREND. Reigning in Blight with Laundry Lists. What's on the Wild Sunflower state bill?

Kansas is considering House Bill 2506 (2018) that excludes the following from blight designations:

less than 15 month vacancy when there are unpaid taxes on the property
if there are legal disputes over the property like probate or title issues its not eligible for blight
if an owner confirms in writing that the issues will be fixed within 90 days
requires that if a code violation triggers blight designation, then there has to be a health or safety risk
- ex: inadequate drainage would no…

Property Rights. Land Use. Billboards. A Billboard Bill in the Sego Lily State. 3 Bits informed intel.

Utah’s HB 361 (2018) requires:

that eminent domain laws, including legal process and procedure, apply to billboard relocation
- this engages city council members in the process instead of non-elected employees
- providse stronger guidance for compensation
if there is no agreement on sign price or relocation within 90 days, then the billboard comapny can relocate it.
blocked signs can be relocated and raised

Opponents say:

Using eminent domain laws will add years to the process of…