EMINENT DOMAIN Protect Columbia's homes and businesses

Why reform eminent domain in Columbia?

Background
Didn't the state reform eminent domain in 2006?
Why start eminent domain reform now?
Why use an initiative petition?
Where did the language for the ordinance come from?
Are you opposed to the Sasaki redevelopment plan?
Does the BLC oppose all eminent domain?
Proposed eminent domain ordinance changes
View videos about Missouri eminent domain

Background

The US Supreme Court in the 2005 Kelo vs New London Development Corporation case voted five to four to uphold government use of eminent domain to take private property for the purposes of economic development, then hand that property over to private developers.

According to the Castle Coalition:

Missouri has one of the worst records on eminent domain abuse in the country. Cities and towns across the state regularly use eminent domain for the benefit of private parties. There have been at least 20 instances in the past several years. Missouri also allows private redevelopment corporations to condemn property. And Missouri courts, despite an express constitutional admonition that courts should exercise their own judgment on public use, nevertheless approve nearly every condemnation, no matter how private the purpose or how unnecessary the condemnation.

The Castle Coalition maintains a nationwide map documenting eminent domain abuse. After going to the map, select Missouri in the select box on the upper left to see information about eminent domain abuse in Missouri. A listing of eminent domain abuse cases will appear to the right of the map.

For more background information please see the Wikipedia Eminent Domain page.

Didn't the state reform eminent domain in 2006?

In 2006, strong bills reforming eminent domain were introduced by the Missouri State Legislature but, by the time they worked their way through the legislative process and were signed by the Governor, they had been amended to the point where they provided no additional protection from the type of eminent domain abuse the US Supreme Court upheld in the Kelo decision.

The Castle Coalition had this to say about Missouri's eminent domain reform, Missouri Eminent Domain Reform Small Step in Right Direction. From the article:

"The good part of HB 1944 is that it increases the burden to take private property by eminent domain," said Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Scott Bullock, who argued Kelo before the U.S. Supreme Court. "The problem is that if blight can mean anything at all, and that's unambiguously the case in Missouri, people who live in more urban areas of the state, like St. Louis and Kansas City, are not much more protected today than they were before this new legislation."

Why start eminent domain reform now?

The Boone Liberty Coalition has been interested in eminent domain since we were founded in 2005. We decided to wait before taking any action to see what eminent domain reforms would be passed by the Missouri State Legislature.

Although Columbia hasn't had any cases of eminent domain abuse in recent memory the BLC is being proactive so that eminent domain abuse events like what happened in St. Louis, Sunset Hills, and Kansas City don't happen here.

The City of Columbia, the University of Missouri-Columbia and Stephens College recently revealed the Sasaki redevelopment plan to create a museum and garden district downtown. If they move forward with this plan, eminent domain is one of the tools they could use to assemble the property they need - some of which could be turned over to private developers.

The Columbia City Council recently denied a rezoning request in the Sasaki redevelopment area which had been approved by the planning and zoning commission. The City Council is already denying a property owner the right to develop their property based on the Sasaki redevelopment plan, even though the plan has not been approved by Columbia's City Council.

With the announcement of the Sasaki redevelopment plan and recent City Council actions, it became obvious that the issue of eminent domain reform needed to be addressed before the City of Columbia finalizes any plans.

Why use an initiative petition?

The Boone Liberty Coalition could schedule time to speak before the Columbia City Council, hand them an eminent domain reform ordinance, and request that they place eminent domain reform on their agenda.

To ensure that strong eminent domain reform is enacted in Columbia, we wanted to make sure that the Columbia City Council could not amend the ordinance in ways which would weaken its provisions. Using an initiative petition prevents the Columbia City Council from making changes to the proposed ordinance. They can only vote the ordinance up or down - if they vote it down, it automatically gets placed on the ballot.

Where did the language for the ordinance come from?

The Boone Liberty Coalition reviewed eminent domain reform ordinances passed in other cities and worked with Institute For Justice staff to craft language for a strong ordinance to prevent eminent domain abuse.

Are you opposed to the Sasaki redevelopment plan?

The Boone Liberty Coalition does not oppose the Sasaki redevelopment plan as long as property owners in the area to be redeveloped participate voluntarily.

Does the BLC oppose all eminent domain?

The BLC recognizes that government must at times use eminent domain to provide the services expected by local citizens and does not seek to block this use.