Another Dangerous Example of Eminent Domain

Nowadays, the use of eminent domain is commonly used for roadway purposes, such as adding lanes and/or improving the roadway overall. However, there are other uses which are purported to be 'for the good of the people' based upon economic promises. The project is supposed to improve the local economy, bring jobs or enhance the residents' daily lives. This promise is not always lived up to, though, and can even bring the opposite: devastation, loss, and a bleak future. It has happened again, and this time to the Village of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin.

After reading the article titled, "Foxconn Debacle is Yet Another Example of the Dangers of Using Eminent Domain to Promote Economic Development" posted on the Reason website on December 10, 2020, I was reminded of how easy it is for the government to pass legislation using this vehicle that so profoundly and immediately impacts the lives of those property owners affected. As long as the right people in power agree, then huge deals like this are relatively easy to pass. To sum up, the then-governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, backed by President Trump and a few other politicians, touted this project and its would-be benefits and pushed along the huge tax subsidy (to the tune of nearly four billion dollars) to get this project going. 

Foxconn is a Taiwanese "electronics giant" who manufacturers items such as the iPhone and XBox. Foxconn would build a 3,000 acre hi-tech plant that would manufacture large 10.5 LCD displays ("Gen 10.5 Fab") in a 20 million square foot facility and employ over 13,000 people. That is what was expected in 2017. Fast-forward to late 2020: only 281 full-time jobs, a structure that was recently zoned from manufacturing to storage is 1/20th the size it promised to be, and the current governor Tony Evers pulled the deal from Foxconn since they failed to deliver their benchmark promises. According to The Verge in their at https://www.theverge.com/21507966/foxconn-empty-factories-wisconsin-jobs-loophole-trump, Foxconn really didn't have a detailed plan when they struck this deal, and politicians, eager to make big strides for their voters, or at least appear to be, trusted the Foxconn had a real plan. To date, there are no plans. 

Let's not forget about the property owners. Sean McFarlane went to site where his home used to sit. It is now a detention pond with geese perched on a hill. The Village spared every expense to take their property too, since they placed Sean and his family in a "dilapidated vacant house with no working toilets or heat" and also allegedly failed to make the relocation payment of $22,000 to the McFarlanes. However, if you go to Mount Pleasant's Foxconn website at https://www.mtpleasantwi.gov/2428/Foxconn, it consists of three paragraphs and contact information regarding the project. It also has a hyperlink to a Racine County Welcomes Foxconn website at https://www.foxconnracinecounty.com/. If you click on Jobs (under Updates) and go to Job Postings, you will only find a recruiting email, a few fluff paragraphs, and a message from Foxconn's former CEO, Terry Gou, who had made the deal with the former Wisconsin governor. The message speaks of their long-term strategy and vision to make Wisconsin the next Silicon Valley. There are currently no job postings. The taxpayers of Wisconsin, however, have already started paying for this doomed project.

Unfortunately, unless the limits of eminent domain are truly fleshed out in legislation, this won't be the last time failed promises break down a community. To learn more about a law firm in the Chicagoland area who fights for your property rights in eminent domain matters, go to www.blynchlaw.com to learn more. 

 City Council Takes Next Step in the Path to Acquire Metacomet by Eminent Domain

We previously blogged about a council member presenting a resolution to acquire private property; as suspected, the City's main concern is not necessarily to preserve open spaces but to generate income. Read below to learn the details and visit blynchlaw.com to learn more about an Illinois-based law firm that exclusively and successfully represents property owners and their property interests when faced with an agency exercising the power of eminent domain.

As reported on Eco RI News on November 13, 2020 at https://www.ecori.org/smart-growth/2020/11/13/eminent-domain, the City Council is keeping alive the possibility of acquiring the Metacomet golf course, which was privately purchased by a company on September 30, 2020. That company has plans to turn the land into a mixed-use development, but the plans are not set, and the property owner has indicated it is open to different uses and even would continue with its current use. The property is currently zoned by the City as an open space.

This was the initial sticking point that prompted Representative Gregg Amore to start a movement called Keep Metacomet Green. However, as it is plainly obvious in recent City Council meeting, the City is not so concerned with its use as an open space as they are concerned with the potential revenue that could be gained by having the property city-owned. Case in point, Council member Ricardo Mourato said, “It’s a gold mine. We’re not thinking outside the box.” 

Another fact is that the property scores low as an environmental habitat as ranked by the conservation group The Nature Conservancy. One looming question is that if keeping it an open space was the real priority, couldn't the city simply pass a resolution to do so? Deny any undesirable zoning applications? The property owner already withdrew its previous application after the backlash. Those methods, and maybe even other ones, could be effective and efficient. As can plainly be seen though, the argument of keeping it an open space as a reason to use their power of eminent domain falls flat as evident by the City Council members' remarks about the property's potential to generate income.

The City has passed a request for information (RFI) soliciting businesses or organizations interested in operating a business should the city acquire the land.

Environmental Defense Fund Up Against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Battle Over 66-Mile Natural Gas Pipeline

Read below and then visit www.blynchlaw.com to learn about an eminent domain attorney who defends property owners' constitutional rights.

As reported on Environmental Defense Fund's (EDF) website on October 23, 2020, EDF filed a reply brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asking the court to strike down FERC's approval for the Spire STL Pipeline which ignored its statutory regulations to protect the public interest.
The reply brief maintains that FERC did not provide evidence showing need for the project and that this private business decision was allowed to "override the wide-sweeping public interest ramifications-on the affiliates' captive customers, the viability of neighboring pipelines, the degradation of the environment, and the persistent and invasive seizure of private property by eminent domain."
EDF, along with a mix of experts and organizations, states that FERC failed to evaluate and "adequately assess" the need under the Natural Gas Act when it failed to properly evaluate the economic and market facts that should guide their decision. Read more at https://www.edf.org/media/edf-urges-dc-circuit-strike-down-unlawful-approval-natural-gas-pipeline.

Rhode Island Representative Pushing for East Providence to Use Eminent Domain Powers 

Read the summary below for a recap of the Providence Journal article and then visit blynchlaw.com to discover an eminent domain attorney working hard for private property owners' rights.

In an article posted in the Providence Journal on September 28, 2020, Representative Gregg Amore drafted a resolution for the City to acquire the Metacomet Golf Club property that is currently in the process of being sold. What prompted the movement against the buyer, Marshall Properties of Pawtucket, was its application for re-zoning the property to the mixed use of residential and office space. 

The representative started a movement, Keep Metacomet Green, with support from surrounding neighbors. Marshall has since withdrew its rezoning application and instead decided to develop the property in keeping with the current zoning.

This still has prompted backlash, with the representative pushing his resolution for the City of East Providence to acquire the property through eminent domain.  However, it raises many questions, such as, would the City be abusing its power of eminent domain? If open, green spaces were that desperately needed in that area, why wasn't a resolution previously enacted? Why didn't the City offer to purchase the property outright, paying a fair price to the seller? Doesn't the developer have a right to develop the property as long as it is in keeping with the current restrictions?

Read the article at https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20200928/legislator-calls-on-east-providence-to-buy-metacomet-golf-club-or-take-it-by-eminent-domain and visit blynchlaw.com to learn more about your private property rights under eminent domain.

Sixth-Generation Farm, Among Others, to be Subject to the Power of Eminent Domain

Read below about an article posted on the Channel 8 local ABC website which speaks of a sixth-generation farm and others that will soon be subject to eminent domain authority due to a high-speed railway project approved by the federal government and visit blynchlaw.com to learn of a law firm that solely assists property owner in recovering damages created by a project like this.

The Federal Railroad Administration gave approval for the project to move forward, which is slated to begin construction next year. However, land owners have banded together to oppose the project, forming an opposition group called Texans Against High-Speed Rail to lobby and stop the creation of the bullet train. The bullet train that will cut through tracts of farmland, which decreases the value of the land and also presents other issues to the property owners, who also fear that it will lead to more takings down the road. 

Texas Central Railroad has yet to exercise its power over eminent domain and has already acquired 600 parcels. 

Read more about the property owners' concerns and their plight at https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/140-year-old-north-texas-farm-threatened-by-bullet-trains-latest-federal-approval/287-51ba0a65-b7ed-41a5-a0c4-31b43cf3d93d and visit blynchlaw.com to learn about a law firm that is on the property owners' side.

A Rare Example of the Beneficial Power of Eminent Domain

Usually the government surreptitiously works with developers to acquire private land through the use of eminent domain. In this case, however, the developer was the one who had its land taken for the good of the public. Read the article below and visit www.blynchlaw.com to learn about the many aspects of eminent domain. 

As discussed in the Kinston article, North Carolina native Danny Bernstein is an avid hiker-turned-author. She discovered there was very little written about the 12,000 acres of DuPont State Recreational Forest, which came to be through DuPont Corporation. Through her investigative journey, she discovered that in 1997 a portion of it almost became "a playground for the rich," when DuPont sold its silicon plant along with three of the forest's most prominent waterfalls to Sterling Diagnostics, a clinical lab production company, who later sold a portion of the land to a film manufacturer and another portion, which included the waterfalls, to a private developer. 

Though the private developer planned luxurious vacation residences, there was an enormous amount of public backlash. The letter campaigns and lobbying efforts led by conservation groups had a large effect and ultimately succeeded in preventing the development, as the state acquired the property through eminent domain in 2000.

Though governmental bodies are able to take private property through the power of eminent domain, but not developers, they oftentimes work in conjunction with developers or later sell the land to developers at a profit. Read the full, atypical story at https://www.kinston.com/subscriber/20200907/local-authorrsquos-latest-book-tells-history-of-dupont-forest. 

Nevada developer files an inverse condemnation lawsuit against the state

Read below about an unconstitutional taking by the state of Nevada, and then visit blynchlaw.com to learn more about a law firm that protects many facets of property owners’ rights, even in the rare cases of inverse condemnation. 

According to an article in The Nevada Independent, the developer Coyote Springs faces another setback in a “decades-long” struggle to develop a planned community 50 miles north of Las Vegas in Clark County. The issue stems from “over-appropriated” water rights, disabling Coyote Springs to use the property as planned, and the state’s hand in changing “the rules of the game,” prompting Coyote Springs to file the complaint. This is the second litigation filed by the developer against the state in the past two years. 

Read more in the September 1, 2020 article linked below titled, “Coyote Springs developer sues state for ‘unconstitutional taking’ of water rights.”  

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/coyote-springs-developer-sues-state-for-unconstitutional-taking-of-water-rights.