Eminent domain should be used only for a public benefit. Kelo v. City of New London remains one of the most disputed rulings in the Supreme Court history. A decade later, the land where a neighborhood claimed by eminent domain remains vacant. “They put in infrastructure and roads to nowhere, sidewalks to nowhere with always the thought that they were going to have this redevelopment plan where a hotel would come, a health club, cafes, restaurants and stuff like that that never came to be,” said a woman whose property was grabbed and demolished.
Even though the government has the right to seize property for a public benefit, there is something inherently wrong with this. I still do not believe that eminent domain is proper on Boutwell no matter what Lake Worth's expert eminent domain attorney says. The city tries too hard and spends too much taxpayer money trying to convince all of us that they are right.
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Something just doesn't seem right about the desperate need by staff and Commissioners to do this.What do they know that we the public aren't privy to? This land has been vacant for years, but now they seem desperate to get their sticky hands on it .
The Legacy of Kelo v. New London
"In 1999, the city of New London, Connecticut started developing plans for its run-down Fort Trumbull neighborhood adjacent to its glistening new Pfizer research facility. While many were excited by the plans for a mixed-use development that would hopefully resurrect this economically disadvantaged city, others were upset by the plans which called for forcibly removing those residents who lived there. One home owner in particular -- Susette Kelo -- refused to move and led the fight to save her neighborhood. Her struggles eventually led to the Supreme Court. The resulting decision in her case is perhaps the most controversial decision in the last few years and has resulted in a wave of state legislation to limit its result. A panel of experts analyze the decision and its significance."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwCdfd5g0C8
What public benefit is this serving? What public benefit will the people of Lake Worth get from this? Job creation is not a public benefit. Increased tax base is not a public benefit. Yes we all want more jobs and a secure tax base for our city, but they are NOT grounds for eminent domain. We expect Maxwell, Triolo and Amoroso to kiss developer rear ends, but shame on Christopher Mcvoy for voting the way he did on this issue.
More jobs and increases in textbase are a public benefit…
New jobs pump money into local businesses.
Increases in tax base and collection of taxes pay for those pot holes, safer paved streets and street lighting that helps keep crime away are all what citizens want.
Oops, now I've pissed off the dark sky people.
Dark Sky people? You guys are out-doing yourselves today.
Taxbase? As stated on numerous occasions, we will never even begin to repay for the multi-millions that will be poured into the infrastructure, etc. at the POC from ad-valorem. It will take 100 years perhaps. Give us all an explanation on that even if we consider your hypothesis is correct, which it isn't. There is no guarantee that any business will develop here. There is no guarantee that any jobs will be created. There is no guarantee that any of these workers will live here or spend their money here.
This is not about creating jobs so people can pump money into local businesses. It is the residents of this city who pay the majority of taxes, not the businesses so I don't think the average person relates to that argument especially when they realize that $11 million of tax dollars will go into the place in order to reap a few thousand a year in future ad-valorem. We will be spending more money to attract a considerable smaller amount of money to fix potholes. Makes sense to me. And you are choosing to forget all the millions down the road just to keep up with repairs...which we have failed every where else in this city. Just keeping up with the POC could wipe out any tax gains.
It's an expensive pipe dream. Let the developers bear the cost of improvements.
Excellent coverage on the eminent domain issue. The book "Little Pink House" goes into this in depth. Catering to Pfeizer was the prime mover here, even though they never did have a real plan for any development of the area. It was the power of drug money that spoke. The POC is the cherished project of the county as a "brownfields" area, and of course our illustrious gang of 4, now down to the gang of 3 (Triolo, Maxwell, and Amaroso) who cater to developers at all costs. I think they would love to move out everyone who is not a developer or very wealthy and complete their gentrification of Lake Worth.
Oooo there's that "g" word again. Lake Worth could use a little gentrification. Get rid of some of the slum. Replace it with decent affordable housing. We now have the highest concentration of people from other countries here illegally with no visible means of income, overcrowding our small houses, littering our neighborhoods, bringing our collective quality of life down.
Lake Worth caters to their "culture" afraid of hurting their feelings.
"I think they would love to move out everyone who is not a developer or very wealthy and complete their gentrification of Lake Worth."
What an idiotic statement. Like Lake Worth could ever completely gentrify itself. The same person probably wonders why Lake Worth's crime seems to be spiking.
I was surprised the G word was used in this context as well. I keep thinking of Bo Allen's statement 10 years ago or so when he thought it was a good idea to bulldoze the entire city and start over...not exactly what he said but that was the idea. A lot of the "affordable" housing stock is owned by slumlords and people are paying high rents for dumps. There is a small minority of vocal people here who believe that illegals are NOT illegal and are not a main cause of some major problems.
They tried to do that to my eighty-five year old mother. I hired a lawyer to fight it. She lived in the same house since she was born. There was no way I was going to let them crush her heart like that. This is something they need to work on because no one should suffer that kind of hurt.
Daniel Roberson @ Mark Bentley PA
Daniel--thanks for your post. Did your Mother "win" in the end?
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