"A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul"
George Bernard Shaw
Government Quotes
1944
OGDEN — It may be easier for the city to acquire private property for the long-awaited Ogden River Project if the state Legislature approves a bill restoring eminent domain as a tool to tackle urban blight.While sponsors and proponents of this bill are deceptively framing this legislation as a purely anti-blight measure, with important property rights protections built in, it is clear from the above statements of Mark Johnson and Dave Harmer that the true effect of the bill will be to restart the Big-Government Economic Development Juggernaut, to put centrally-planned schemes like the River Project back on track -- and to allow petty politicians like Boss Godfrey to continue to build monuments to themselves -- on the backs of Utah property owners.
House Bill 365 would allow cities and towns to use eminent domain if petitioned by 75 percent of property owners with at least 50 percent of the land value within an urban-renewal project area.
“It would definitely help the river project,” Ogden Community and Economic Development Director Dave Harmer said of the bill’s potential impact. “We would like to see it pass.”
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Stephen Urquhart, R-St. George, is awaiting a final reading by the House and, if approved, will be forwarded to the Senate.
The measure is being pushed by the Utah League of Cities and Towns with support from several municipalities including Ogden, said Mark Johnson, the city’s management services director.
“There are a lot of cities that have (blighted) urban downtown areas that need help,” he said.
What is particularly ironic is that the Utah legislature, which launched a national property-rights revolution in 2005, seems now to be leading the charge on behalf of government schemers and central planners, to restore the power to government to seize the property of private citizens and turn it over to selected private developers. Once again there are elements in the legislature who believe it's okay to balance fundamental private property rights against a vague concept of "public good" -- mostly for the benefit of private developers.
The Castle coalition, a national property rights advocacy group, neatly sets forth the case for the American people below. In this connection, the coalition has assembled the 2005-06 national polls to prove up the true sentiment of the American public, who overwhelmingly oppose the use of the eminent domain power for private economic development:
Tax-hungry bureaucrats and land-hungry developers generally support eminent domain for private commercial development. That’s no surprise. After all, when cities can take any apartment building and replace it with luxury condominiums, or condemn any corner store and replace it with a Wal-Mart, using eminent domain is much easier than buying property from willing owners.
Ask pretty much anyone else, though, and there’s clear consensus. Americans across the nation from all walks of life-regardless of their religious or ethnic background, political affiliation or geographic location-say the use of eminent domain for private gain is wrong. There is near universal agreement that taking private property should not be taken just so someone else can make more money-regardless.
The following polls all reflect this sentiment. Since the Kelo v. City of New London decision, polls all across the country have reflected the fact that Americans find the landmark-and now infamous-Supreme Court decision just plain wrong.
Make no mistake. House Bill 365 is barrelling along full-steam. The bill was approved by the House Rules Committee by a unanimous 10-0 vote. It's no wonder that powerful pro-development lobbies like the Utah League of Cities and Towns consider the passage of this legislation a fait accompli. For a real eye-opener, be sure to listen to the audio record of the House Rules Committee's 2/15/07 hearing. We were astounded, frankly, at how easily the Rules Committee rolled over.
If the citizens of the state of Utah wish to nip this latest attempted encroachment upon fundamental private property rights in the bud, the time to act is NOW!
In our never-ending effort to seamlessly provide our gentle readers the tools to effortlessly contact their legislators, we provide Utah House contact links here. The House vote is not calendered yet, but it will no doubt come up on short notice. It took a tide of citizen input to thwart Utah's land-grabbing bureaucrats in 2005; and now's clearly no time for Utah citizens to rest on their laurels.
Your legislators apparently need to be reminded again about the difference between right and wrong.
Your property could be the next to be seized.
Snoozers will be losers.
Comments, anyone...?
