May 17, 2006 Eminent Domain--Tennessean Editorial

In my post of May 10, I discussed loopholes in the current eminent domain legislation under consideration in Tennessee.

In a recent guest editorial in the Nashville Tennessean, there is more discussion about loopholes and the potential for government abuse in using the power of eminent domain to take one person's private property and transfer it to another person for private use instead of public use.

The loopholes in the current bill, rather than curbing potential abuse, could end up permitting abuse of the government's right to take private property under the guise of addressing "blight."

The current push for new legislation in TN was prompted by government action in New London, CT. In New London, the government declared what appeared to be an average neighborhood of houses as "blighted."

Using its power of eminent domain, the government took several houses from their owners and then transferred the property to a developer who would put the land to a "better" use that would generate more tax revenue.

As the guest editorial points out, "blight" is the key word. One definition of blight is "dilapidated, decaying, in a state of deterioration."

A blighted area, where houses or buildings are falling down or pose health hazards to the neighborhood, certainly deserves attention by the government if the owners fail to take necessary action.

In New London, however, the government "took" allegedly blighted property from its owners and then transferred the property to someone else (a private developer) .

As the editorial points out, there are ways to address blight through ordinances and laws that do not involve taking someone's property away.