The Takings Issue

http://www.law.georgetown.edu/gelpi/takings/index.htm


The Georgetown Environmental Law and Policy Institute (GELPI) has a great website talking about the takings issue. You know this as the government's power of eminent domain to seize private property for economic development purposes.

The New York Times recently mentioned that:

More neutral observers expressed concern that state officials, in their zeal to protect homeowners and small businesses, would handcuff local governments that are trying to revitalize dying cities and fill in blighted areas with projects that produce tax revenues and jobs.
"It's fair to say that many states are on the verge of seriously overreacting to the Kelo decision," said John D. Echeverria, executive director of the Georgetown Environmental Law and Policy Institute and an authority on land-use policy.

"The danger is that some legislators are going to attempt to destroy what is a significant and sometimes painful but essential government power. The extremist position is a prescription for economic decline for many metropolitan areas around the county."