Legal Trend. Private Companies with Eminent Domain. Prepare yourself for the 2 new activist arguments.

If a private entity takes on a state function like eminent domain then…Activists in Lousiana, who are suing over the Bayou Bridge, want the energy companies that use eminent domain to be subject to the same rules the state is subject to, like open records laws.

Is a pipeline a public use? According to the activists/landowners a hospital is a public good, while a pipeline is described as:

  • “We’re not talking about something that’s for the public good. The only people that are going to get rich are these rich oil execs that don’t live here.”

WKRF 89.3 | Another Bayou Bridge Lawsuit Filed

 

 

Campaign Suggests Eminent Domain to Keep Rural Hospital Open. 3Bits to be informed.

The Candidate: Ohio Governor candidate Dennis Kucinich (D)

The eminent domain use: The City of Massillon, Ohio should use eminent domain to keep the Affinity Medical Center open

The public uses: a hospital & 800 jobs

Becker’s Hospital Review | Dennis Kucinich: Eminent domain should be used to prevent Ohio hospital closure

The Patch | One Town In Northeast Ohio Could Lose 800 Jobs In March

 

Lege Trend. Short Term Rental. Dueling Legislation & Local Regulations.

Background: IN 2011 Florida passed a law provided for local regulation, but not for the duration or frequency of short term rentals. 

Local Cities Say No thank you:  After 2011, Miami and Miami Beach passed their own restrictions, with penalties of $20,000

Welcome to 2018. SB 1400 vs.  HB 773  at the Florida Legislature:

  • SB 1400 will:
    • explicit state preemption for permitting & inspecting vacation rentals
    • requires property owners to obtain licenses
    • sets fines and penalties at $1,000
  • HB 773 will: 
    • continue local regulation
    • provides for no state preemption
    • requires equal application of short term rental ordinances to all residential properties

Orlando Sentinel | Vacation rental supporters rally at Capitol

Lege Trend. 3 limits for eminent domain by a private company in this piece of legislation

Nebraska’s LB 1017  (2018) would require:

  • pipelines to prove by preponderance of the evidence that the pipeline is a public use & that just compensation was paid
  • include in the calculation of just compensation the economic benefit to the private company
  • Construction limitations including:
    • $100 Million performance bonds
    • A filed decommissioning plan for piepline removal at the end of the pipeline’s use

Lincoln Journal Star | Bob Krist bill would tighten requirements for pipeline construction in Nebraska

Lege Trend. Eminent Domain Compensation. New Calculations for Lost Profits for Businesses & Farms. Read the Bill.

Virginia Legislature is considering SB 809  that reframes lost profit for eminent domain property valuations by:

  • applying lost profits to businesses & farms
  • applies to a partial taking of land
  • the valuation calculation begins once the property owner is prevented from using all of his land or any property rights are taken.

Lege Trend. Private Property Rights in Private Wells. Compensation for Restricted Well use. Read the Bill.

 In true Libertarian fashion, New Hampshire Legislature is considering House Bill 1226 (2018) that exempts from drought restrictions private wells.

What supporters say:

  • HB 1226 is about basic Property Rights
  • Riparian rights are a long standing legal right and tradition
  • If opponents want to stop private wells from use during drought, then private wells should be reimbursed for the property rights loss

What opponents say:

  • private wells still draw down water reserves and there is a greater utilitarian purpose to consider 

Concord Monitor | Homes with private wells would be exempt from drought restrictions

Local Ordinance TREND. Spot Zoning. Short Term Rentals. Football Players.

Where: New Orleans, LA

The spot zoning: an ordinance that allows a certain property to pursue unrestricted short-term rentals

What’s the benefit of the spot zoning for short term rentals: Residential property in New Orleans has a 90 day maximum for short term rentals, the spot zoning removes this restriction

The football player:  owns the property subject to the spot zoning

How does eminent domain factor into New Orleans City Council? A city council member likened the zoning issue to taking value from the property owner

The Times Picayune | Spot zoning turns into a sore spot for New Orleans City Council

Property Rights TREND. Local Ordinance: Prohibits Plants Higher than 10 inches. What?!

Where: New London, CT home to the Kelo v. City of New London of U.S. Supreme Court fame

The ordinance: Section 302.4 of the New London Property Maintenance Code

What garden items are prohibited by Section 302.4?

  • “all grasses, annual plants and vegetation,” that are more than 10 inches high.
  • except for trees, shrubs, and “cultivated flowers and gardens” 

The offending yard:  Has a “maintained” and “contained” bamboo garden for more than 30 years, longer than the ordinance has been in existence

The penalty: $13,500 in fees and civil penalties with talk of blight statutes being triggered

Reason | New London, Connecticut, Prosecutes Local Artist for Bamboo It Deems a Blight