Unusual Eminent Domain Bill. States Buying Professional Sports Franchises.

In 1984 the Maryland Senate passed a bill allowing the state of Maryland to use eminent domain to acquire the Colts.

Why did Maryland want to buy the Colts? To prevent the franchise from leaving.

Did it work? No, before the Maryland House could pass the bill, the owner struck and deal and moved the team to Indianapolis. 

Columbus Dispatch | Michael Arace | Powerful are complicit in Crew move; it’s how the game is played

Private Property Rights. Texas Builders Pushing Against Sprinkler Regulations. 3 Bits informed:intel

Which Texas official is for sprinklers in every residential property? Texas State Fire Marshal

What are the policy agruments of builders?

  • Home owners should be able to choose
  • Texas property values are strong because property remains affordable

What event can supporters point to?

  • A fire that took the life of a former Colleyville, TX mayor and his grandson with a brain injury
  • The mayor’s son believes his son and father would be alive if there had been sprinklers installed.

CBS DFW | I-Team: Homebuilders Push Texas Lawmakers To Block Fire Sprinkler Requirements

Property Rights Trend. Tree Ordinances Meets Affordable Housing. Read the Bill

A Republican State Senator in Florida has filed S 574 (2018) to curb local fees on tree removal.

The arguments to support the legislation:

  • Republican State Senator who filed the bill says “People’s private property rights should be supreme.”
  • A developer:  Tried building affordable housing and ran up against a local tree ordinance. 

News 10 Tamapa Bay Sarasota | Proposed bill gives state control over tree laws

Legal Trend Begets Lege Trend. 2017 U.S. Supreme Court Eminent Domain Ruling Overturned by Lege. Read the Bill.

The Wisconsin Legislature rejected the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Murr v. Wisconsin that permitted regulation on adjacent properties that limited the ability to sell the property.

In response to the June ruling, the Wisconsin Legislature in November passed Assembly Bill 479.

The goal of the bill: to make sure the regulatory schemes that exist when land woners buy property continue to exist. 

The bill is meant to “make sure that when people buy property, and they have expectations related to that property, that those expectations do not change over time,” says state Rep. Adam Jarchow (R–Balsam Lake), who sponsored the legislation. “And their rights are not taken away because of changing rules or regulations over time.”

 Reason | Wisconsin Lawmakers Pass Bill to Protect Property Rights, Reverse Supreme Court Decision

 

Lege Trend. Grants with strings attached. No eminent domain.

The state that prohibits eminent domain with grant funds: Indiana

The grant funds that prohibit eminent domain: State Community Development Block Grant Main Street Revitalization Program, which requires local matching of $150,000 for a total $600,000 grant

The local government project that will use the grant funds:  widen, replace and extend sidewalks in Georgetown, Indiana in connection with the River Hills Economic Development District and Regional Planning Commission.

News and Tribune | Georgetown looks to fix ‘crumbling’ sidewalks, retaining walls downtown

2 Ways a Texas City Annexation Plan is Not Lawful. So Says Texas Attorney General

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton lays out 2 ways McKinney’s proposed annexation plan isn’t lawful:

  • the annexation notice violates the Texas Local Government Code and the Open Meetings Act
  • the notice for the Aug. 28 mcKinney City Council meeting violates the Texas Local Government Code and the Open Meetings Act

How the notices violate the Open Meetings Act and Local Government Code:

  • do not provide a description of the property the city plans to annex
  • the council’s agenda item was unclear that the city intended to give city staff permission to annex specific properties, rather than providing guidance on annexation policies

Dallas Morning News | McKinney’s annexation plan may violate state law, attorney general says

Property Rights Trend. Are developer fees a taking?

Property developers in Los Angeles California are charged a fee that subsidizes affordable housing.

How did this end up in court? Developers argued that the fees are tantamount to a taking of private property “for public use without just compensation.”

What happened in court? The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, October 30, 2017, refused an appeal that upheld the affordable housing fee.

California State Courts found that the developer fees are:  a reasonable regulation of development.

Los Angeles Times | Supreme Court turns down property-rights challenge to developer fees in West Hollywood

 

Campaign TREND. TX County Judge Touts Property Rights vs. High Speed Rail.

The elected position: Ellis County, Texas County Judge

The candidate:  Current Ellis County Judge Carol Bush

The comment on property rights and high speed rail:  In listing achievements she notes under her leadership the county has “advocated for property owners against high-speed rail”

Waxahachie Daily Light | Ellis County Judge Carol Bush announces re-election campaign

Legal Trend. Is the Landowner Bill of Rights Optional?

What’s happening? Marietta Georgia argued before the Georgia Supreme Court that the 2006 Landowner Bill of Rights was optional.

What was the landowner’s argument? That the city had to follow the landowner bill of rights and provide a detailed appraisal prior to condemnation proceedings.

What did the Georgia Supreme Court say? 

  • Yes, the landowner has to be given a detailed appraisal before condemnation
  • If the landowner bill of rights were optional, the entire act would be impaired
    • Translation: an outcome allowing for an optional land owner bnill of rights woud fly in the face of the act 

Atlanta Journal Constitution | Georgia Supreme Court: Marietta violated Landowner’s Bill of Rights

CBS 46 | Local grocer wins battle against city of Marietta, continues to serve low-income community