by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow
The Daily Sentinel
The Fifth Amendment is an essential part of the Bill of Rights, ensuring, “nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.”
Sometimes private property stands in the way of public progress, such as when highways are built. The public good cannot be held hostage by one owner, whose refusal to sell might block needed infrastructure projects. Thus, all governments have the right of “eminent domain” to handle such cases, and they must pay owners the fair market value of land taken for public use.
What is a “public use” under the law? It’s more than just infrastructure — a lot more. The Supreme Court determined in the 1950s that elimination of slums could be considered a public purpose, in a case involving Washington, D.C. neighborhoods. More recently, the court has allowed local governments to enhance their revenue by turning over one person’s property to another owner who will build something more taxable.
Now, the Supremes have let stand a lower court’s ruling allowing a town government to take private property, for no use at all, but merely to stop the owner’s plan to build a store. A store allowed by local laws on property zoned for commercial development.
