The Connecticut homeowners who lost the landmark Supreme Court eminent domain decision filed a petition yesterday for a rehearing.The families want the high court to reconsider the 5-4 ruling they say already has “opened up the floodgates to eminent domain abuse.”…Already, according to the institute, lawmakers in 25 states have introduced or promised to introduce legislation reforming the use of eminent domain for private development.The institute says, however that unless all 50 states enact such legislation, homeowners could be left in jeopardy.
Date Archives July 2005
Target is open
My wife just called and said that the Target is open, presumably for a “soft open” that will enable them to work the kinks out before the planned grand opening. Let the festivities begin.
Places 29
Transportation, open space and neighborhood concerns are some of area residents’ top priorities for the master plan for the U.S. 29 corridor in northern Albemarle County….The areas of top public concern for Places29 include pedestrian connections and facilities, preservation of the county’s natural environment, creation of public parks, improvements in the transportation system, protection of existing neighborhoods, provisions for retail services and maintenance of the county’s public facilities, according to the update.From today’s DP.Places 29 has an online questionnaire where residents may provide feedback on the master plan process. What I hope will not be lost is the fact that 29 needs to be an efficient corridor for moving traffic in and out of the area, not merely a commercial zone with several stoplights and roadblocks.
Eminent Domain article
The Roanoke Times ran an article yesterday interviewing members of the Virginia Property Rights Coalition about eminent domain in Virginia.The article provides some interesting insight into how eminent domain is often used not as the actual means to acquire property, but to intimidate the property owner enough to get them to lower their asking price. In other words, it’s a slimy way to get the government to do some hardball negotiation tactis for you. Courtesy of VirginiaPropertyRights.org.As always, stay vigilant and informed.
Fluvanna and eminent domain
It would be nice to see other local governments do something like this.Alarmed over a decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court last month in Kelo v. New London, the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution at its Wednesday, July 6 meeting opposing “the condemnation of private property through eminent domain purely for economic development purposes.â€
Alternative transportation from a CVille-centric POV
It sounds expensive, she admitted, but added that when the price is compared with the cost of other transportation projects, it’s relatively low.She pointed to the Hillsdale Drive Extension, a one-mile road that will connect Hydraulic Road to Hillsdale at its existing terminus at Greenbrier Drive and cost between $17 million and $27 million. A design study is underway, and a build date has not been set.The Meadowcreek Parkway, running about two miles, is currently estimated to cost at least $50 million if it’s built with a grade-separated interchange at the U.S. 250 Bypass.Some form of mass transit that is fiscally viable and efficient for moving people is a laudable goal…. Continually focusing on the challenges that the City faces serves only to reinforce the myopic view that the City is the only important entity in the region. Many (most) of the people who work in the City cannot afford to live in the City so they have to drive to get to work!
Region’s home sales continue at blistering pace
Indeed, despite some predictions of a coming slowdown, home sales in the Charlottesville area continued at a fierce pace in the just-ended second quarter of 2005, exceeding the numbers for the same period of 2004.“We continue to see a great real estate market,†said Dave Phillips, CEO of the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors. “All looks bright and rosy.â€According to the association’s data, 1,300 homes were sold in the Charlottesville market area during the second quarter of the year, up nearly 5 percent from the second quarter of 2004…. Discount brokers that do not put their properties in the MLS as well as FSBOs comprise perhaps 10% of the market -this is a fairly substantial percentage, and these homes tend to sell for significantly less than if they were marketed as broadly as possible. (Source: Realtor.org.)Either way you look at the data, housing prices continue to rise due to the massive influx of people from other areas of the country and world.