Also Read
Below the following excellent articles: Limit eminent domain, secure right to
private property ownership ...ownership - Estero land seizure will cost Lee $1.92 million, jury rules
- New Jersey Attorney Appointed to
National Network of Eminent Domain Lawyers
Columbia Students, Activists Occupy
Harlem Warehouse in Campus Expansion
DNAinfo March 24, 2012 12:07pm | By Jeff Mays, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
The
Tuck-it-Away warehouse at 655 W. 125th
Street is due to be acquired via eminent domain by
the Empire State Development Corporation as part of Columbia's new 17 acre, $6.3 billion campus
expansion.
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HARLEM—Just call it Occupy
Warehouse.
A small group of Columbia University
students and local activists have occupied a storage warehouse on 125th Street that
is part of the university's West Harlem campus
expansion plans.
The Tuck-it-Away warehouse at 655 W. 125th Street
is due to be acquired via eminent domain by the Empire State Development
Corporation as part of Columbia's
new 17 acre, $6.3 billion campus expansion.
"We are taking this
building over from the Empire State Development Corporation which is not acting
in the interest of the citizens and giving it back to it's rightful
owner," said Tom DeMott from the Coalition to
Preserve Community, a group opposed to the expansion.
DeMott said the group obtained permission from warehouse owner Nicholas Sprayregen to be there.
Sprayregen, who owns several warehouses in the expansion zone, has refused to sell
his property to the university and fought efforts to take it using eminent
domain. In June of 2010, the New
York State
Court of Appeals upheld the use of eminent domain,
saying the area was blighted.
About 20 people camped out at
the warehouse on Thursday night. They began camping outside after they say they
were warned by authorities that the building owner would face fines if they
slept inside the building.
On Friday evening, a police
officer stood a few feet from where a group of about 10 people had set up camp.
A police car sat across 125th
Street.
Columbia is extending into West
Harlem from West 129th to West 133rd streets, between Broadway and 12th Avenue. The
area also includes the north side of 125th
Street and three properties on the east side of
Broadway from 131st to 134th
street.
The plan will see the creation
of 6.3 million square feet of space, with the first phase of the project
scheduled to be completed by 2015. Later phases are scheduled to be completed
by 2030.
DeMott said the group is opposed to
residents and businesses being displaced for the expansion and the use of
eminent domain. They are also opposed to the research laboratories to be housed
at the Jerome L. Greene Science Center.
In addition, the group wants Columbia
University to begin providing jobs and
other benefits specified under the community benefits agreement.
Columbia University was not immediately available for comment but have
previously said they are abiding by the terms of the community benefits
agreement and are meeting hiring goals.
"The goal is to stop a
vicious displacement plan and suggest to Columbia
that the community should be shared," said DeMott.
There is also concern over the
safety of the project after a building being demolished
on the site collapsed Thursday, killing one worker and injuring
two others.
Alexandra Afifi,
21, a senior at Columbia College, said she opposed the expansion. The issue
hasn't been a major topic of discussion among students until recently, she
said.
"I've been watching Columbia transform this neighborhood in my four years here and by transform, I mean
swallow," said Afifi. "As a student
I don't see any reason for the expansion except profit."
http://www.dnainfo.com/20120324/harlem/columbia-students-activists-occupy-harlem-warehouse-campus-expansion
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Limit eminent domain, secure right to private
property ownership ...ownership
Right Angles James D. Kellogg Glenwood Springs, Colorado CO March 20, 2012
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20120320/VALLEYNEWS/120319864
Throughout the United States, government and
quasi-government bodies are chipping away at private property rights. This is
exemplified in western Colorado
by property acquisitions of the Roaring Fork Transit Authority (RFTA) to build
new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stations. The town of Basalt
and city of Glenwood Springs
endorsed RFTA's tactic of condemning private parcels
within their municipal limits to advance the $46.2 million BRT project.
In the Glenwood Springs instance, RFTA claimed that a strict deadline attached
to a $25 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration meant a
competing private use proposed for the property needed to be quickly quashed.
Through their support, the message from local leaders is loud and clear: It's
more important to help RFTA spend taxpayer dollars than secure the rights of
private property owners.
The founders of our nation believed the right of citizens to acquire and
possess property is as unalienable as the right to free speech. Thomas
Jefferson declared, “All power is inherent in the people. … They are entitled
to freedom of person, freedom of religion, freedom of property, and freedom of
press.”
Secure private property rights are a cornerstone of economic growth and
sustainability in a free market economy. Our government is responsible for
upholding laws, contracts, patents and copyrights to protect private property
owners from infringement by others, including government itself.
Property ownership allows the self-sustaining production of wealth (i.e.,
objects with economic utility) and improvement of standards of living. Private
property, which includes more than real estate, is the basis for tax revenue
that enables government to ensure national security and domestic tranquility.
Secure private property rights allow individuals to own what they have earned
and serve as incentive for the entrepreneurial spirit that drives a vibrant
free-market economy.
Notwithstanding, the framers recognized that eminent domain (i.e., the power of
governments to confiscate private property) was required in certain cases to
provide infrastructure, such as roads and government buildings, for public use.
However, the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution limits authority of the
federal government by stating, “nor shall private
property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Furthermore, the
Fourteenth Amendment states, “nor shall any State deprive any [citizen] of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
The state of Colorado's power of eminent
domain is pursuant to Article II, Section 15 of the Colorado Constitution. Other political
subdivisions within the state usually need such power expressly granted by
statute. In the case of a transit authority, it is Title 38, Article 1, Section
202 of the Colorado
Revised Statutes (C.R.S).
Take a look at this section of the C.R.S. and you'll be shocked by the long
list of entities granted with the power of eminent domain.
Moreover, “public use” has evolved over the past several decades to mean
“public benefit.” Today it's not uncommon for state and local governments to
use eminent domain to benefit private parties, arguing the new owner's project
will provide public benefits such as reducing urban blight, enhancing tax base
or creating jobs.
Make no mistake. Government is empowered at the expense of individual liberty.
Eminent domain is only to be exercised as a last resort under appropriate
circumstances. It's up to citizens to demand concise explanations from elected
leaders and appointed bureaucrats to justify any infringement on private
property rights.
Does the public use component of a bus station really warrant the use of
eminent domain? Can RFTA demonstrate the claimed public use dictates an
imperative need to build a BRT station on a specific site as opposed to a
property just down the road? What threshold justifies a particular public use
to trump the rights of individual citizens?
These questions are brushed aside by assertions that RFTA clearly has the legal
authority to confiscate private property … so deal with it.
When Americans are coerced into relinquishing the right to
private property ownership, the prospect of lasting life and liberty wanes.
Ayn Rand, author of “Atlas Shrugged,” professed,
“Without property rights, no other rights are possible. Since man has to
sustain his life by his own effort, the man who has no right to the product of
his effort has no means to sustain his life.”
BRT stations don't seem as important now, do they?
On the author's request, “Right Angles” will appear just once a month, on the
third Tuesday. James D. Kellogg of New Castle is a
professional engineer, the author of the novel E-Force, and the founder of LiberTEAWatch. com. Visit
JamesDKellogg.com or email jamesdkellogg@yahoo.com.
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Estero land seizure will cost Lee $1.92 million, jury rules
The News-Press March 26, 2012
Lee County will have to fork over $1.92 million to a
company building FGCU student housing in Estero, a
jury in the 20th Judicial Circuit Court determined Friday.
The company, Colico, sued Lee County
in late 2005 after the county took 3.39 acres of its 26 acres as part of an
eminent domain case. The land taken by the county was later used for part of
the Estero
Parkway extension, according to the judgment.
The student housing will front Three Oaks Parkway, west of Interstate
75.
The original plans called for 14 additional buildings on 26
acres there. Each building was originally planned to have 12 four-bedroom units
to house nearly 700 students.
Bill Moore, the Sarasota-based attorney for Colico LLC, said the company was ready to move ahead with
the project in 2005, but the plan came to a halt once Lee County
stepped in
“What happened was
that they lost their drainage plan, their second access and water management
plan,” Moore
said Monday. “It screwed up their permitting.”
Colico sued after the county agreed to pay for only the $883,000
in land it had taken as part of eminent domain, Moore said.
“They gave us their estimate for the land and said there
were no other damages,” he said.
Colico disagreed and said out-of-pocket costs for re-permitting
and bringing new fill in to meet existing regulation was an additional
$860,000, Moore
said.
On Friday, the jury agreed with Colico.
Joan LaGuardia, Lee County spokeswoman, said she didn’t have
enough information to comment on the decision. Jack Peterson, the assistant Lee
County attorney, who represented the county, did not return calls seeking
comment.
Read complete report at http://www.news-press.com/article/20120327/NEWS0108/303270021/1051/RSS05/Estero-land-seizure-will-cost-Lee-1-92-million-jury-rules?odyssey=nav%7Chead
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New Jersey Attorney Appointed to
National Network of Eminent Domain
Lawyers
PR Web (press release)
Morristown, NJ (PRWEB) March 26, 2012
Morristown
condemnation lawyer, Anthony Della Pelle, has been
selected to represent New Jersey in the Owners' Counsel of America, a national
association of property rights attorneys.
Anthony F.
Della Pelle, Esq., CRE, of McKirdy & Riskin, P.A. has
been selected as the New Jersey member of the Owners’ Counsel of America, a nationwide network
of experienced eminent domain attorneys who are dedicated to the defense of
private property ownership. Mr. Della Pelle succeeds
his partner, Edward D. McKirdy, Esq., who previously served as the New Jersey
member-attorney of Owners’ Counsel, devoted to representing landowners
throughout the state.
“I am extremely
honored to be elected as the New
Jersey representative of Owners’ Counsel. Its members
are recognized nationally as leading property rights attorneys, and I look
forward to working with them and collaborating in order to provide my clients
with the best legal representation possible,” said Della Pelle.
Mr. Della Pelle concentrates his practice in the areas of eminent
domain, redevelopment and real estate tax appeals. He is a designated member of
The Counselors of Real Estate®, an international organization of real estate
practitioners who are recognized as the leading advisors in complex real
property matters. Mr. Della Pelle
is among the fewer than 50 practicing attorneys who hold a CRE® designation.
He holds Martindale-Hubbell’s® highest rating, AV Preeminent, and has been
selected as a “New Jersey Super Lawyer” by New Jersey Monthly
Magazine since its inception. This year, Mr. Della Pelle
was recognized as one of New Jersey’s Top 10
attorneys in the New Jersey
Super Lawyers Magazine.
Throughout his
extensive career, Mr. Della Pelle has tried numerous
contested condemnation matters before both juries and commissioners and has
secured several multimillion dollar awards for his clients. He is Board
Certified as a Civil Trial Attorney by the Supreme Court of New
Jersey and has been appointed as an expert in real estate
valuation matters by the Superior Court of New Jersey. He served as a member of
Governor Chris Christie’s transition team following his 2009 election, was
appointed by the Governor as a Commissioner of the New Jersey Public
Broadcasting Authority and serves as an officer of the New Jersey Hall of Fame
Foundation and the Franklin & Marshall College Alumni Association Board of
Directors.
In addition to
his legal practice and leadership positions, Mr. Della Pelle
lectures frequently in New Jersey
and nationally on topics relating to eminent domain, redevelopment and real
estate tax appeals. He appears regularly on national television, where he
provides commentary on eminent domain and property rights issues around the
country. He authors the New Jersey
Condemnation Law Blog, http://www.njcondemnationlaw.com,
and the New Jersey
Property Tax Law Blog, http://www.realestatetaxappealsnj.com.
He has also served as a member of the faculty of the New Jersey Association of
Realtor’s Graduate Realtor Institute since 1989. Mr. Della Pelle lives in Morris Township, New Jersey with his wife and three children.
ABOUT OWNERS'
COUNSEL OF AMERICA:
The Owners’
Counsel of America,
http://www.ownerscounsel.com,
is a nationwide network of experienced eminent domain attorneys dedicated to
protecting the rights of private property owners large and small, locally and
nationally, and to advancing the cause of property rights. The lawyers
affiliated with Owners’ Counsel are in private practice in nearly every state
and represent property owners against federal, state, and local governments,
utilities, redevelopment authorities and other entities that may be armed with
eminent domain power.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/Anthony_Della_Pelle/New_Jersey/prweb9324416.htm
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