Kelo is coming home to roost - in Des Moines, Iowa.
Crossposted to My Left Wing
City leaders say they will force a Des Moines business owner to sell two buildings in the burgeoning East Village area of downtown because he has failed to make upgrades to the property.
The move would be the city's first use of a U.S. Supreme Court-granted power to wrest control of private property and put it in the hands of developers as a way to boost the tax base.
Boost the tax base my ass. This is a naked grab for under-developed property in an area with high growth potential. This is exactly the abuse of the new interpetations of emminent domain that we predicted.
More in the extended entry
(Note: all links to the Des Moines Register article will expire on or by Sept.19th)
In late June, this board and the liberal blogosphere divided into 2 camps; one side tepidly supporting the 5 justices that ruled in favor of New London in Kelo v. The City of New London. The other side was screamingly pissed that the Court so obviously crossed the line on the ownership of personal property over the state's rights to take it away. The other side, myself included, screamed that the ruling opened the door for a host of property abuses by governments that are more beholden to the corporations and the wealthy than they are to their citizens. It sickened us to agree with Scalia, Rehnquist, Thomas, and O'Connor, but the merits of the case outweighed our dislikes of these justices.
Here's Exhibit One of our worst fears.
"I'm going to fight tooth and nail," said Brad Hamilton, who owns 422 and 424 E. Locust St. -- a T-shirt printing business and ZZZ Records. His buildings "impair the redevelopment" of the East Village, according to city officials.
Brad Hamilton is actually one of the first people to move into the East Villiage before the City Council designated the area as a redevelopment zone. Attaracted by an odd clientle, cheap rent, and independent owners who were remodelling their properties on their own, Brad took a gamble and opened up his dream store - an independent record shop specializing in fringe and local acts. ZZZ Records is one of the two remaining independent record stores in Des Moines.
some of this is quoted out of order - id
The East Village [of Des Moines] in the past five years has been transformed from a mix of buildings, some vacant, to a collection of shops, restaurants, loft apartments and condominiums.
. . But city officials in 2002 set guidelines for renovations and targeted about a dozen East Village buildings. Owners who failed to make improvements were told they would face eminent domain, which is the government's power to force land sales when property is considered necessary for public improvements.
. . The buildings were boarded up when he [Hamilton] purchased them about five years ago. Hamilton says he has already updated plumbing, electrical work and floors, in addition to outside work on the buildings' facades.
So how much does the city want done? A similar building in the area which was also cited by the city at the same time put forth a $105,000 renovation plan; the best Brad can come up with is $12,000.
And here's the clincher:
Attorney Bill Lillis represents several property owners in the East Village, including Iowa State Bank Chief Executive John Burgeson and Basil Prosperi Bakery's Steve Logsdon.
Lillis urged the council on June 6 "to move without delay" and force Hamilton to make additional improvements.
Lillis on Aug. 17 submitted a client's offer to buy Hamilton's properties. Hamilton turned down the $450,000 offer.
City Councilman Archie Brooks said he will propose action within the next month to move forward with eminent domain proceedings.
He said the $450,000 offer is far more than what the city will give Hamilton. The properties are valued at $206,000, up almost $70,000 since 2001, according to county records.
"We're not asking him to do anything else than what others have already done," Brooks said. "We're not going to let this die. We've got people standing in line to buy those buildings over there."
In contrast, longtime East village buisness owner, "Bryan Smith, manager of the Blazing Saddle at 416 E. Sixth St. and a board member of the East Village neighborhood association, said his group has no problem with the condition of Hamilton's buildings. He said he is troubled by the city's threats."
I think the situation is fairly clear.
I've heard more than a few times that this administration and it's incompetence, failures, and abuses is what we get when liberals and progressives maintain that the Democratic Party is little or no different than the Republican Party. But the 5 justices on the Court are what we get when idly belive that professed socially liberal and business friendly Democrats are good for us. We get a Court that is more beholden to the intrests of Big Money over the protections of the minority or those with small pockets.
The courts should protect minority from the tyranny of the majority - and the less wealthy and politically-connected from the predations of those who control or influence government.
Emminent Domain this. *_jabs the finger_*