Category Archives: private property rights

+1 Local Government. No Eminent Domain for Private Gain. From the North.

Columbia County, Wisconsin Baord of Supervisors voted to support he following statewide eminent domain reform:

  • prohibit private companies from using eminent domain to take property
  • public good should not include economic growth
  • ensure that landowners can negotiate for a fair price.

Are other Wisconsin counties doing the same thing? Yes, at least 6

Portage Daily Register | Columbia County Board favors eminent domain reform

Sawyer County Record | Rusk County passes resolution calling for…

Update of Final Version. Anatomy of a Bill that Sped up a Pipeline & Transmission Line Tunnel

As signed by Michigan’s Governor, SB 1197 (2018 | MI) will:

  • Include a plan for recruiting, training, and using Michigan workers for the tunnel project;
  • Allow for multiple utilities to use the tunnel;
  • Provide that the tunnel is built to last and will contain potential oil spills in the Straits of Mackinac;
  • Limit liability for the state, the authority, and members of the authority;
  • Require that all necessary government approvals be obtained for the tunnel;
  • Prohibit the use of eminent domain…

Local TREND. Rental Property Inspections = Private Property Rights Violations?

Institute of Justice is representing a class of renters in Seattle to challenge the city’s ordinance that requires inspection of rental property.

The ordinance: Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance,  Seattle Municipal Code 22.214.

When tenants refused entrance to the inspector a fine of $500 per day until the landlord persuaded the tenant to permit the inspector to inspect the premise.

Institute for Justice | Seattle mandatory rental inspection Law

Eminent Domain and Coastal Barriers. WHAT. WHERE.

What project? A coastal barrier project that will be a 71-mile long system of gates and levees 

Where? Along the Texas Gulf Coast

How does eminent domain come into play? Businesses and residences on Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island could be impacted

Who would exercise eminent domain? Texas General Land Office

What do I need to know about TX GLO, eminent domain and the coastal barrier?

  • eminent domain will e a last resort
  • intent is to ” identify an alignment that minimizes and…

Lege TREND: Private Entities Get Regulatory Approval Before Using Eminent Domain?

This is the question at the heart of a lawsuit in Louisiana.

What does state law look like for eminent domain? To use eminent domain, an entity must receive permission from a regulatory agency.

Is this the middle ground between no eminent domain for private entities and no checks on the use of eminent domain by private entities?

Louisiana Record | Eminent domain laws at heart of suit challenging Bayou Bridge Pipeline, law professor says 

3 Eminent Domain Cost Drivers for Texas border wall

  • The route does not follow the river, is a straight line and makes 1000s of acres unusable
  • Unwilling Landowner Litigation the route makes it necessary to take more land from 100s of unwilling landowners
  • Religious land taking a historic Catholic mission will set up a lengthy legal fight over the 1st amendment freedom religion rights of the church vs. the government’s 5th amendment aility to use the power of eminent domain

The Monitor | EDITORIAL: Holy war: Government should reconsider planned…

Anatomy of a Bill that Sped up Water Project Development & Prohibited Eminent Domain

Florida’s SB10 (2017 |FL) did 2 things:

  • prohibited the use of eminent domain &
  • “mandated the construction of a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee”
    • “to reduce discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries in an effort to quash the harmful blue-green algal blooms that have wreaked havoc on Florida waters in recent years”

This week, the results are clear, the reservoir is on target a pace faster than anticipated and no eminent domain is being used.

Florida Politics | U.S. Sugar…

Lege TREND. Legislative Plan to Preempting Tree Ordinances. An exception + the Opposition

Michiugan will consider SB 1188 (2018 | MI) that will preempt local ordinances barring tree removal by:

  • prohibit local governments from adopting or enforcing ordinances or charters “prohibiting or restricting the removal of trees or other vegetation.”

What exception did the author accept?

  • allow local governments to willingly enter into contracts with private landowners to allow local control of storm water mitigating vegetation

What are cities saying in repsonse?

  • vegetation and tree…

3 Reasons to Reign in Eminent Domain. Editorial from the Black-eyed Susan Flower State

The Baltimore Sun Editorial, Transource fight continues [Editorial], raises these 3 issues with eminent domain:

  • Balance economic interests in eminent domain by comparing whether there are “sufficient economic benefits to justify the..cost and the disruption to the communities”
  • Legislation should re-direct to non-eminent domain alternatives. Maryland is considering requiring that power projects look to existing infrastructure first. 
  • Public Necessity.   need a better balance between property…

Legal TREND. Local Tree Ordinances vs. Property Rights.

What tree ordinance is the center of a law suit? Township of Canton, MI that fines the removal of  any “tree,” defined as anything with a woody stem and a three inch diameter. The fine is up to a $450 fine

Who sued? The Texas Public Policy Foundation 

What happened to get here? A landowner removed trees ans shrubs on his land to clear up a flooding issue and to eliminate a mosquito issue caused by the flooding

F.P. Development, LLC VS. Charter Township of Canton, Michigan