Monroe County Taking

Posted on May 4, 2008 by Alan Ackerman

Register Herald

The Monroe County Commission is attempting to obtain ownership of a cemetery, using its powers of eminent domain, because the private owner allegedly has “desecrated the burial ground” by removing tombstones and allowing “raw sewage” to run over graves.

Commissioners Oliver Porterfield, Joyce Pritt and Shane Ashley named Irvin Lee Mann Jr. as the defendant in a lawsuit filed last week that seeks the more than 30,000-square-foot property in Lindside.

The suit states the plot of land is an old cemetery where human remains were last interred in 1914. The commission is seeking to take the property from Mann, pay him for fair market value for it and then restore the cemetery “for the solemn and respectful final resting place for the citizens therein buried.”

“Upon information and belief all grave markers were removed from existing graves in violation of law, and discarded or destroyed, it is believed that some markers may exist over a steep wooded embankment adjoining the cemetery,” the suit states.

“The property has been illegally utilized for residential purposes for some time, and has been recently used by (Mann) as a resident with residential rental structure also on the property.

“... (Mann) has unlawfully allowed raw untreated sewage to run unattended over and across the cemetery property, further desecrating the burial ground.”

A telephone listing for Mann could not be found Thursday.

Ashley said some of the problems with the cemetery began with previous owners of the land, and believes the matter needs to be resolved out of respect for those who are buried there.

“What the commission wants to do is to come in and clean it up and restore it back to the original cemetery and make it presentable and a good resting place for the people that are buried there,” he said Thursday. “I am for protecting the cemetery where somebody’s mother or father may be buried.”

Ashley said he was unsure how many grave sites there are or their exact names, but said, “I’m pretty sure we can work this out.”

The lawsuit also stated the commission does not intend to “create new sites for burials, but only to prevent the further violations of existing graves.”

This is a taking for all the good reasons. There is no difference between an eminent domain proceeding for a disgustingly maintained cemetery and a blighted building. Hopefully, there is a statutory delegation allowing taking of the property.

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Let the market determine the value

Posted on May 3, 2008 by Alan Ackerman

Nashville Business Journal

The lighting rod issue of eminent domain appears to be escalating around a Music Row property owned by Joy Ford, owner of Country International Records.


Scott Bullock, the attorney who argued the landmark eminent domain case, Kelo v. New London, at the U.S. Supreme Court, will be in Nashville tomorrow to meet with Ford and the media.


At issue is the construction of a $100 million mixed-used office and hotel project by The Lionstone Group, a Houston-based developer. Recently the developers indicated they are ready to move forward with construction, even though Ford's property is located inside the footprint for the project.
In recent weeks, the city has signaled a willingness to get involved because the property is located in one of the city's urban redevelopment districts.


Realistically, this is a prime example of a public agency taking for essentially a private use. Let the market determine the value of the property!

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Whether the Kentucky State Constitution empowers Universities with the authority to take land?

Posted on May 2, 2008 by Alan Ackerman

The Time Tibune, April 30, 2008

Surely, Northern Kentucky University land-grabbers don’t think they can use eminent domain to seize private property for a new athletic complex. Or do they?

You never know what people in power, who seem to disdain the sacredness of private-property rights, are capable of doing.

N.K.U. officials left the door open for eminent domain when announcing plans for the new complex planned for nearby private property — even before regents approved the plan or owners were satisfied. And the property, essentially placed in limbo, makes it tough for owners to sell now that potential buyers know the university’s plans.

Who wants to buy property with an “up for grabs” sign stuck in the front yard?

The university doesn’t have the cash right now to buy the coveted properties. Playing the eminent-domain card forces other potential buyers to fold.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that N.K.U. President James Votruba said the university “will try to avoid using eminent domain.”

Votruba might as well have said: “We’ll try to avoid condemning property. But we will — one way or another — get this property to build our new baseball diamonds, track field, tennis courts and parking lots. If owners don’t accept our (a.k.a. fair-market value) price, we’ll condemn their land.”

The university president didn’t say that, but a local real estate agent did, and he knows eminent domain when he sees it.

…. The founding fathers created a Constitution that allowed eminent domain tactics, but sparingly and only as a means to attain land for the public good — to create utilities, highways and railroads.

…If these property owners in Northern Kentucky are smart, they’ll hire a sharp lawyer. If their elected officials are smart, they’ll send President V. this message: Let property owners determine “just compensation.” Then let N.K.U. pay up — or shut up -— about eminent domain.

The real issue here is whether the Kentucky State Constitution empowers Universities with the authority to take land. If so, uses not purely educational are indeed part of the parameters of the U activities.

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Nationalization of the Oil Companies

Posted on April 28, 2008 by Alan Ackerman

The Peoples Voice, April 25, 2008

We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over.” - Ambrose Bierce


Are you sick and tired of being at the mercy of the grasping plutocrats who run Big Oil? Gasoline is now selling at $3.50 a gallon, as the price of a barrel of oil nears $120, with no end in sight to further increases. Meanwhile, the American economy is sinking faster than the Titanic. The dollar, too, is in sharp decline. Mortgage foreclosures are at depression era highs. Over three million middle class jobs have been exported in recent years. The Wall Street wise guys are in near-panic mode. The Fed, after 19 years of Alan Greenspan’s gross ineptness, is held in deep contempt. Yet, Big Oil keeps sucking off the American consumer, with a devil-be-damned attitude, while acting like a law unto itself… read more

Now if we can only nationalize everything, avoid all competition, then have nothing left for us to work for. Nationalization of the oil companies (a slight expense) would assure us of no development or improvements in the oil distribution system, and likely delay our attempts to look to alternative fuel.

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Motor Speedway Project

Posted on April 22, 2008 by Alan Ackerman

The Indy Channel, April 20, 2008

Speedway is a step closer to making big changes near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway despite the efforts of some residents to derail the project.


Some people are upset that the Speed Zone development plan would force them off their properties.


"The unfortunate thing is that the plan that they have put together basically is a steamroller," said Danny Williams, owner of Pit Stop Liquor.
Supporters of Speed Zone said it would make the area around the speedway a more desirable destination.

"I think that the changes that we're proposing will revitalize this area," said Scott Harris, who is on the redevelopment commission.
The commission on Monday voted in favor of acquiring about 40 pieces of property to move forward with the project.

The commission will get appraisals on properties and begin negotiations with owners. If needed, officials said the town can use eminent domain to take the properties.

-Owners have built at section lines (mile roads) fully expecting a ninety degree\right angle at their property corner. Roundabouts give the historical expectation no respect. Owners get hurt, and their only recourse is Just Compensation because roundabouts are considered a public use.

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Scottsdale Deal Gone Bad

Posted on April 15, 2008 by Alan Ackerman

East Valley Tribune, April 15, 2008


Up to $55 million into the pockets of developers, due to McDowell Sonoran Preserve eminent domain actions gone wrong.   


Another possible $8 million to an investment group, related to a disputed lease involving a water treatment plant expansion.


Nearly $5 million spent on a downtown arts district development that fell through last week.
Scottsdale is finding that buying, leasing and selling land does not always go smoothly.


On Tuesday, the City Council is to consider having the City Auditor's Office initiate a fact-finding review into one of one those eminent domain actions, the $82 million Toll Bros. condemnation, in hope of avoiding future real estate pitfalls.

-Scottsdale has actively sought eminent domain as a tool of “development” and to aesthetically improve the community. The article places governments on notice that they should be acquiring by condemnation only where there is no other choice and the need is truly mandatory.

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Hospital Takings

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Alan Ackerman

www.springfieldnewssun.com, 03/28/2008

The City of Springfield has the right use eminent domain to acquire Robinson Insulation, Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Carey ruled Friday, March 28.

The property owners, Garth and Jennifer Robinson, had challenged the city's right to take their property, which would be razed to make room for Community Mercy Health Partner's new downtown hospital complex slated to open in 2012.

In his ruling, Carey assigned April 28 for a jury trial to determine the amount of compensation the Robinsons will receive for the property located on Baltimore Place, and Cliff, Plum and Cedar streets.
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-There is always a challenge in the determination of what is a public use. Hospitals have frequently been non-profit or publicly owned. Therefore, when a taking for a hospital expansion is considered a public use it should not be considered a surprising result.

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Airport Authority Board Delays

Posted on March 21, 2008 by Alan Ackerman


Crain’s Detroit Business, March 21, 2008

The Wayne County Airport Authority board delayed a vote Thursday on a controversial $3.6 billion, 20-year master improvement plan for Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

The authority, which governs the airport’s operation, cited public desire for more time to learn about the plan. There are mounting objections from local municipalities, especially the city of Romulus, that decry the displacement of homes, business and schools for a new 10,000-foot runway.

About 200 people, including residents and elected officials, gathered in a meeting room at the Westin Hotel in the airport’s McNamara Terminal in expectation of a presentation by the authority, local officials, and then a vote.

Eminent domain would likely be required to complete the expansion. About 800 residences would need to be demolished, including apartment buildings and single-family homes, to make way for the runway.

-The meaning of the delay and uncertainty will only create a blighting influence, both emotionally and physically, to the areas businesses and residents. It will be tough to transact business or sell a business or a residential parcel when one knows there is a condemnation just down the road.

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Construction at McGalliard Road

Posted on March 17, 2008 by Alan Ackerman

The Star Press, March 17, 2008

The state hopes to raise the bypass over McGalliard Road, building entrance and exit ramps, according to INDOT spokesman Harry Maginity.


In an unrelated development, INDOT also announced it would resume plans to build an overpass that would carry Centennial Avenue over the bypass. Centennial's intersection with the bypass was the site of a fatal accident in 2007, two fatal accidents in 2002 and several other accidents in recent years that left motorists with serious injuries.


Currently, the McGalliard-Bypass intersection is serviced by a four-way traffic signal.
INDOT spokesman Harry Maginity said the proposed interchange would be safer and better suited to the original purpose of having a bypass.


To complete such a project, the state would have to acquire additional right-of-way, displacing some property holders in the area, which includes several businesses.


Construction at McGalliard Road would begin in 2010 and cost around $22 million, according to the INDOT Web site.

-As States sell off infrastructure, from water works to toll roads, they now have funds to initiate other transportation improvements from other than road taxes.

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Salute to Bill Moore

Posted on March 10, 2008 by Alan Ackerman

Herald Tribune, March 10, 2008

Hanging in the Sarasota conference room of law firm Brigham Moore is an earth-tone print of six Plains Indians seated and standing around a table with a parchment copy of the U.S. Bill of Rights in the background.

For Bill Moore, one of the law firm's named partners, the print is a reminder of one of the greatest land crimes ever perpetrated by the U.S. government.

In the 1820s, federal officials tried to oust Cherokee Indians from their lands in North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia, and the Cherokee responded by hiring a lawyer.

"They had been promised that land under a treaty dating back to Washington's time," Moore said. "They pled their case all the way to the Supreme Court, and they won."

But President Andrew Jackson refused to enforce the rights of Cherokees, Moore said. Instead, he ordered troops to drive them on a thousand-mile march to Oklahoma, which became known as the "Trail of Tears."

Moore, part Cherokee himself, has dedicated his life to helping protect Florida residents against similar takings. Along the way, he has helped to build his firm into the largest eminent domain practice in the state, with 19 attorneys in five offices…

-Bill Moore has been among the outstanding advocates in protecting owners in eminent domain. His passionate and rational demeanour along with a sense of fairness has offered protection to thousands of Florida owners seeking redress in their constitutional right to be treated fairly.

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