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Forbes
10 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Cities Consider Using Eminent Domain For Unholy Property Seizures
A person takes a picture of the childhood home of the new Pope Leo XIV in Dolton, Illinois, (Photo ... More by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images) Robert Prevost grew up in a modest home in the south Chicago suburb of Dolton, Illinois. Recently, a realty company purchased that old home, fixed it up, and put it up for sale. Then a few weeks ago, Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV. Now that modest home is in demand. The house is supposed to be auctioned off, with bidding starting at $250,000. How much of a premium will people pay for the childhood home of a Pope? Ten percent? Twenty? Nobody knows because this hasn't happened before—we can't make a guess based on past sales of 'childhood Pope homes.' And we may never find out. Dolton officials are threatening to use eminent domain to force a sale so the home can become a publicly accessible historic site. But while taking the home for a public use meets the constitution's requirements to take property, the price the city ends up paying could be less than divine. When the government takes property through eminent domain, the constitution says it must pay 'just compensation' for the property, which courts say is whatever price the property would fetch on the open market. But figuring out what that price is can be tricky, and the government often stiffs property owners when it can get away with it. ProPublica had a series of articles several years ago showing how the federal government paid very different prices for property depending on whether owners could afford attorneys. That's where the planned auction would have been helpful. After all, the best evidence of how big a 'Pope premium' the house commands on the open market would be an auction on the open market. And that may well be why the city moved so quickly: In May, city officials darkly warned the current owner to make sure bidders knew 'their 'purchase' may be only temporary since the Village intends to begin the eminent domain process very shortly.' If the city can suppress bids at the auction, it leaves itself the option of arguing that the real value of the property is what the home was on sale for before the Pope's elevation: $199,900. It could even argue it should be lower than that. The Pope himself has been quite busy and hasn't commented specifically on what should happen with his old family home, but Christian Britschgi writing for Reason noted that his first included the line: "[Saint] Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat.' The actual 'fair market' price for a Pope's childhood home may be high or it may be low, but Dolton shouldn't be afraid of the truth. And it shouldn't be using public power to try to stop the current owners' efforts to find out exactly what their property is worth in the real world. Meanwhile, a city in New Jersey is considering another unholy use of eminent domain, except here it is directed squarely at a church. In Toms River, the Christ Episcopal Church wants to open a small homeless shelter on its property. But the town has a different plan for the church's property: pickleball courts and a skate park. Christ Episcopal hosts a number of community programs, including an affordable housing nonprofit. That nonprofit recently submitted plans to the zoning board for a 17-bed overnight shelter on the church property. Like many areas across America, rising home prices have contributed to rising homelessness across New Jersey. One group estimates that the number of homeless residents in the region has doubled in recent years. But for the mayor of Toms River, a new park complex along the city's eponymous river is a priority. He said the church's property is, 'a great opportunity for parking, for recreation.' Broader plans for the area include taking nearby waterfront property to build a tiki bar and jet ski rentals. The church found out about the effort to seize its property a mere 24 hours before the city council first considered a measure. It passed by a 4-3 vote in a contentious meeting where council members yelled at each other. A second approval may come this week. That the vote to take the property came just three weeks before the zoning board considered the application for the shelter is far too convenient. The Fifth Amendment allows government to take property for public use and parks usually fit that definition. But the town doesn't want a park so much as it doesn't want a homeless shelter. Whether or not this kind of bad faith use of eminent domain is constitutional is a somewhat open question. For instance, in nearby Connecticut the state supreme court rejected an attempt to stop an affordable housing development with sham playing fields. Massachusetts, Georgia, and Rhode Island similarly prohibit these so-called pre-textual takings. Last fall, the Supreme Court almost took up the case of a Long Island hardware store chain that lost its property to a town for a 'passive park' (the town had no plan to develop the land). Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, and Alito said they would have granted the case but four votes are needed to achieve Supreme Court review. Pretextual takings are an incredible threat to private property. As long as the government is willing to pay the 'fair market' price practically any property can be seized. That market price doesn't include whatever an owner might spend in court trying to keep their property. Challenging even the most outlandish use of eminent domain could mean coming out the other end of the process without a home or business and poorer for it. The Asbury Park Press speculated that the New Jersey episcopal diocese's poor financial situation may be a consideration in whether it negotiates or resists. For now though, the church has indicated it will fight and it has support from other area houses of worship. The mayor has talked about the need to 'balance the hardships' of a community without a park and speculated that the church congregants could simply 'drive to a different location every Sunday.' This is a grim view of governing that is fundamentally at odds with America's traditions of property and religious rights. Christ Episcopal has been in Toms River since 1865 and it wants to use its property to fulfill its religious mission to care for the poor at no expense to the town. The mayor wants to provide convenient recreation at cost to the taxpayers. The U.S. Constitution gave government the power of eminent domain but courts shouldn't merely roll over whenever government presents a plan to take private property. The Fifth Amendment also says that no one should be deprived of their property without due process of law. When the government presents an unholy use of eminent domain, judges should consider all the facts and uphold justice.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Servco Pacific seeks pause on HART's eminent domain of Kakaako property
A more than 100-year-old family-owned business has requested the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation pause its plans to condemn the company's large automotive servicing center property in Kakaako. HART claims the eminent domain of a Servco Pacific Inc. property at 616 Keawe St. will be for the benefit of completing the over-$10 billion Skyline project into downtown Honolulu by 2030. But at the HART board of directors meeting Friday, Servco Chief Investment Officer Peter Fukunaga opposed the government's taking of the property until further discussions with the rail agency could be held. 'We want to figure out how we can find a good solution for all of us, ' he added. Saying discussions with HART over this property originally started more than a decade ago, Fukunaga said that 'leadership and staffing changes ' at the agency derailed discussions in recent years. 'There's been about a five-year period where there hasn't been any conversations, and then recently … we were notified that HART needed to take a significant, large portion of the property, ' he added. 'About triple … than what was initially discussed.' 'And then we were informed that the land has to get turned over to the contractor by January, ' Fuku naga said. 'So a very short time to prepare, that's about seven months from now.' Via a resolution, the rail agency seeks to notify the Honolulu City Council of its intention 'to acquire by eminent domain a fee simple interest and a temporary construction easement over, under, above and through a portion ' of that commercial property—which features an 8, 580-square-foot building where automotive repairs occur—for Skyline. HART claims the building conflicts with the station platform for the Civic Center Station and with the 'constructability ' of four straddle bent columns, which will be in the public right of way immediately adjacent to the building. A straddle bent column and electrical facilities to power the station will also be located within the acquired property. And an additional temporary easement is necessary for use during the removal of the building from the property. The business is still eligible to receive relocation benefits, rail staff assert. HART claims it presented a formal offer to Servco in April. 'The owner has been given a reasonable time to consider the offer, ' Krista Lunzer, HART's director of transit property acquisition and relocation, told the board Friday. 'To adhere to the CCGS construction schedule, it's necessary to begin the condemnation approval process now.' 'Efforts will be made to continue negotiations with the owner, with the goal of reaching an amicable and reasonable settlement, ' she added. According to the city's Real Property Assessment Division, the commercial property at 616 Keawe St. has an assessed value of more than $21.2 million. If the eminent domain occurs, Fukunaga—grandson of company founder Peter H. Fukunaga, who started the business in 1919—said Servco will 'need to relocate one of our busiest service centers.' 'So this facility supports nearly 50 jobs, tens of thousands of customers every year, ' he told the board. 'You know, seven months to get permitting, move equipment, retrain staff, potentially find a new location and figure this all out without disrupting … that's the only spot down there that we've got.' Fukunaga requested Servco 'would like to step up the amount of conversations and engagement to figure out alternatives ' to condemnation. The main alternative, he asserted, is full closure of the company's Kakaako service center. Fukunaga said the eminent domain 'jeopardizes the long-term redevelopment plans for this site and leaves us with very few practical options going forward.' But the future of Servco's property was hampered by circumstances at HART's board meeting. On Friday the board lacked a quorum—the minimum number of board members to legally conduct public business on the city rail project—and therefore could not vote on the condemnation or any other items on the meeting's agenda. Although it could not vote, board Chair Colleen Hanabusa explained the panel could receive testimony and that board members could ask questions. To that, board member Roger Morton asked Fukunaga whether Servco 'recommended alternatives that you would like us to consider.' 'Yes, ' Fukunaga replied, adding his company wanted to set up a future meeting with HART to discuss options. 'But certainly, if there's a way that the amount of property to be taken permanently could be much smaller … and maybe some of the property could be leased for the build process.' Hanabusa asked about Servco's business operations on that Keawe Street site. 'For service, that's our only Toyota location in the area, ' Fukunaga replied. 'And you said (the planned taking ) changed, about triple the size ?' she queried. Fukunaga replied, 'It was supposed to be about 5, 000 square feet, and … I think it's up to about 19, 000 (square feet ) at this point.' Board member Anthony Aalto asked whether Servco would 'temporarily move and then, after HART's done its business, move back in … (to ) that huge site you have there.' Fukunaga said, 'To your point, if there's a way that much less can be permanently taken, and during the build … if a portion is leased or borrowed for a period of time … that would certainly be a step in the right direction.' 'I can't speak to the details of that, ' Aalto replied, 'but obviously, looking forward long-term, we want to see that site fully integrated into the station, and potentially see your business there on a permanent basis but in an integrated fashion with the station.' Later, Lunzer said the request for the Servco property's condemnation will return to the board for a formal vote, likely at its next meeting in June. In April the HART board voted for rail-related condemnations on three other Kakaako properties. Those include :—560 Halekauwila St., owned by architecture firm Design Partners Properties No. 5 LLC.—609 Keawe St., owned by Bank of Hawaii, trustee for the Katherine McGrew Cooper Trust.—576 Halekauwila St., owned by Goodwill Kaka ako Center LLC and Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii Properties LLC. At the same April 25 meeting, the board also voted to condemn a fourth property in Kalihi—at 1956 Dillingham Blvd., owned by Gerald Je Chul Kang and Kloe Sookhee Kang—to allow easement access for placement of Hawaiian Electric equipment.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legislators listened to the people of Iowa. It's up to Kim Reynolds now.
After three years and four pieces of legislation sent to the Iowa Senate by the Iowa House, on May 12 the chickens came home to roost. The voices of the people were drowned out no more, and thanks to 11 brave senators who refused to buckle, a vote was forced on legislation to protect the landowners of Iowa against the use of eminent domain to seize their property to build Summit Carbon Solutions' CO2 pipeline. The pipeline can be built with voluntary easements, but instead, to save money, Summit has chosen to use the heavy hand of government power through eminent domain to seize the land of others. I have been told that many who refused to sign easements were treated disrespectfully. This project in the opinion of many legal scholars does not meet the Iowa constitutional requirement for being a public use project and runs afoul of the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. More: What is eminent domain? What to know about Iowa's bill limiting it for carbon pipelines Property rights are in our DNA as Americans. It is one of the reasons we fought a revolution, and as George Washington reminded us, 'Freedom and property rights are inseparable. You can't have one without the other.' With our state motto being 'Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain,' it should have come as no surprise that the citizens of Iowa would fight to protect their fundamental right of private property. So, here we are today. The House sent four pieces of legislation to the Senate over a three-year period to protect landowners. Senate leadership refused to bring them to the floor for a vote. This year we sent them two strong bills to uphold the Constitutional rights of landowners. One of them they ignored, and Sen. Mike Bousselot attempted to destroy the other one with a poison pill amendment that did nothing to protect property owners impacted by the Summit CO2 pipeline. Thanks to 11 brave Republican senators who refused to pass budgets until the voices of the people were heard, House File 639 came to the floor for a vote in the Senate. As a Republican, I was saddened to see how some Republican senators conducted themselves on the floor, attacking the freedom fighters who insisted that the voices of the people be heard, and the Constitution be upheld. House File 639 was attacked as being written by environmental extremists, a ridiculous argument. The bill was written by conservative Republicans, including myself. We are not environmental extremists; we support the concept that we should Drill, Baby, Drill, but we also believe in the Constitution and insist that its principles and protections be honored. More: How Iowa lawmakers voted on a bill limiting eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines House File 639 was also attacked as being a terrible bill. Yet, those attacking it offered no alternatives that truly protected landowners. Those attacking it were sent four pieces of legislation over a three-year period, and they did nothing. Their claim of being for landowner rights was betrayed by their actions. In the spirit of GOP Party Chair Jeff Kaufmann, who in 2006 wrote eminent domain legislation to protect landowners and spearheaded the successful effort to override Gov. Tom Vilsack's veto of it, and in keeping with the requirements of the Iowa Constitution and the Republican Party of Iowa Platform, House File 639 passed both chambers with the majority of elected Republicans in support. In contrast to past efforts in which Democrats opposed eminent domain protections, this time many of them supported the legislation. House File 639 passed with bipartisan support. It passed by a vote of 85 to 10 in the House and 27 to 22 in the Senate. The people, through their elected representatives, have spoken. Lobbyists supporting renewable fuels believe the pipeline must be built to support ethanol. This is in fact an economic development argument, not an argument that supports the constitutional public use requirement. The pipeline can be built with voluntary easements, and the fact that some believe it to be essential for the future of ethanol does not mean we toss the Constitution aside. We must not do that because that is not who we are. We can support economic development, we can support agriculture, while also supporting the constitutional rights of my constituents in Shelby County and across our amazing state. For over three years I have watched landowners fight for their private property rights, and in fighting for these rights, they were fighting for the rights of all of us. They have lived with uncertainty, threats, fear, exhaustion, and economic hardship in having to hire attorneys and fight for the legacy of their land and the future of their children. I have seen the frustration in their eyes with their government when year after year their voices were ignored in the Senate as elected officials hid behind process. Some elected officials had to be reminded that government exists in our great country not to restrain the people, but rather to constrain itself, because the power in the United States of America and the state of Iowa must always belong to the people. Thanks to the steadfast effort of House Republicans, the incredible efforts of landowners, and 11 brave senators, the voices of the people have been heard, and they reverberate in House File 639. It only remains for the governor to recognize the will of the people and their constitutional rights and sign this legislation as quickly as possible. I look forward to our governor signing this legislation, cementing her legacy as a leader who stands for freedom and the Constitution, as she has done since she became our governor. State Rep. Steve Holt of Denison represents Iowa House District 12. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: On eminent domain for carbon pipelines, Iowans were heard | Opinion
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Servco Pacific requests pause on HART's eminent domain plans of its Kakaako property
A more than 100-year-old family-owned business has requested the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation pause its plans to condemn the company's large automotive servicing center property in Kakaako. HART claims the eminent domain of a Servco Pacific Inc. property at 616 Keawe St. will be for the benefit of completing the over-$10 billion Skyline project into downtown Honolulu by 2030. But at the HART board of directors meeting Friday, Servco Chief Investment Officer Peter Fukunaga opposed the government's taking of the property until further discussions with the rail agency could be held. 'We want to figure out how we can find a good solution for all of us, ' he added. Saying discussions with HART over this property originally started more than a decade ago, Fukunaga said that 'leadership and staffing changes ' at the agency derailed discussions in recent years. 'There's been about a five-year period where there hasn't been any conversations, and then recently … we were notified that HART needed to take a significant, large portion of the property, ' he added. 'About triple … than what was initially discussed.' 'And then we were informed that the land has to get turned over to the contractor by January, ' Fuku naga said. 'So a very short time to prepare, that's about seven months from now.' Via a resolution, the rail agency seeks to notify the Honolulu City Council of its intention 'to acquire by eminent domain a fee simple interest and a temporary construction easement over, under, above and through a portion ' of that commercial property—which features an 8, 580-square-foot building where automotive repairs occur—for Skyline. HART claims the building conflicts with the station platform for the Civic Center Station and with the 'constructability ' of four straddle bent columns, which will be in the public right of way immediately adjacent to the building. A straddle bent column and electrical facilities to power the station will also be located within the acquired property. And an additional temporary easement is necessary for use during the removal of the building from the property. The business is still eligible to receive relocation benefits, rail staff assert. HART claims it presented a formal offer to Servco in April. 'The owner has been given a reasonable time to consider the offer, ' Krista Lunzer, HART's director of transit property acquisition and relocation, told the board Friday. 'To adhere to the CCGS construction schedule, it's necessary to begin the condemnation approval process now.' 'Efforts will be made to continue negotiations with the owner, with the goal of reaching an amicable and reasonable settlement, ' she added. According to the city's Real Property Assessment Division, the commercial property at 616 Keawe St. has an assessed value of more than $21.2 million. If the eminent domain occurs, Fukunaga—grandson of company founder Peter H. Fukunaga, who started the business in 1919—said Servco will 'need to relocate one of our busiest service centers.' 'So this facility supports nearly 50 jobs, tens of thousands of customers every year, ' he told the board. 'You know, seven months to get permitting, move equipment, retrain staff, potentially find a new location and figure this all out without disrupting … that's the only spot down there that we've got.' Fukunaga requested Servco 'would like to step up the amount of conversations and engagement to figure out alternatives ' to condemnation. The main alternative, he asserted, is full closure of the company's Kakaako service center. Fukunaga said the eminent domain 'jeopardizes the long-term redevelopment plans for this site and leaves us with very few practical options going forward.' But the future of Servco's property was hampered by circumstances at HART's board meeting. On Friday the board lacked a quorum—the minimum number of board members to legally conduct public business on the city rail project—and therefore could not vote on the condemnation or any other items on the meeting's agenda. Although it could not vote, board Chair Colleen Hanabusa explained the panel could receive testimony and that board members could ask questions. To that, board member Roger Morton asked Fukunaga whether Servco 'recommended alternatives that you would like us to consider.' 'Yes, ' Fukunaga replied, adding his company wanted to set up a future meeting with HART to discuss options. 'But certainly, if there's a way that the amount of property to be taken permanently could be much smaller … and maybe some of the property could be leased for the build process.' Hanabusa asked about Servco's business operations on that Keawe Street site. 'For service, that's our only Toyota location in the area, ' Fukunaga replied. 'And you said (the planned taking ) changed, about triple the size ?' she queried. Fukunaga replied, 'It was supposed to be about 5, 000 square feet, and … I think it's up to about 19, 000 (square feet ) at this point.' Board member Anthony Aalto asked whether Servco would 'temporarily move and then, after HART's done its business, move back in … (to ) that huge site you have there.' Fukunaga said, 'To your point, if there's a way that much less can be permanently taken, and during the build … if a portion is leased or borrowed for a period of time … that would certainly be a step in the right direction.' 'I can't speak to the details of that, ' Aalto replied, 'but obviously, looking forward long-term, we want to see that site fully integrated into the station, and potentially see your business there on a permanent basis but in an integrated fashion with the station.' Later, Lunzer said the request for the Servco property's condemnation will return to the board for a formal vote, likely at its next meeting in June. In April the HART board voted for rail-related condemnations on three other Kakaako properties. Those include :—560 Halekauwila St., owned by architecture firm Design Partners Properties No. 5 LLC.—609 Keawe St., owned by Bank of Hawaii, trustee for the Katherine McGrew Cooper Trust.—576 Halekauwila St., owned by Goodwill Kaka ako Center LLC and Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii Properties LLC. At the same April 25 meeting, the board also voted to condemn a fourth property in Kalihi—at 1956 Dillingham Blvd., owned by Gerald Je Chul Kang and Kloe Sookhee Kang—to allow easement access for placement of Hawaiian Electric equipment.
CBS News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Dolton's plan to acquire Pope Leo XIV's childhood home, possibly through eminent domain, raises legal questions
A fight for ownership of Pope Leo XIV's childhood home in Dolton, Illinois, raises questions about legality. The current owner of the home at 212 E. 141st Pl. has signaled that he plans to sell it at auction, and Dolton Mayor Jason House has said the village will seek to buy it, but if negotiations fail, could seek to acquire it through eminent domain. That's when a government body seizes private property for public use without the owner's consent, but pays the owner a fair amount for the value of the property. There is immense interest in what happens next to Pope Leo's childhood home in Dolton. "They're bringing rosaries, flowers. We light candles," said Donna Sagna Davis, who lives next door. Davis has erected a cross outside her own home; Gregorian chants belting from a speaker in her window via a playlist she found on YouTube. "I've seen a lot of people; people from Greece, people from Italy, Germany," she said. "One woman came and she prayed, touched the door of the pope's house, and she said she wanted to be healed." On the day then-Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected pope, the owner of the pontiff's childhood home said he learned about Pope Leo's election through his real estate agent while at a doctor's appointment with his pregnant wife. Polish and Catholic, he sees it as a blessing for his growing family. CBS News Chicago was the first to go inside the newly renovated house on the day Pope Leo was elected. With the house now a piece of history, Dolton Mayor Jason House has said the cash-strapped village plans to acquire it, either through direct purchase or through eminent domain powers. "We consistently say we want to make sure that we're partnering with the archdiocese to honor it in the right way," he said. But that plan – intersecting the use taxpayer funds and a religious organization – has raised concerns, and not just limited to the First Amendment separation of Church and State. "We have statutory problems dealing with eminent domain, and it has to be used for a public purpose, not for a private or for religious reasons. There are a lot of obstacles in this, and I think down the road, there's going to be a lot of legal issues," CBS News Chicago legal analyst Irv Miller said. The Archdiocese of Chicago said it "appreciates the outreach from the Village of Dolton and our preliminary discussions regarding the former Prevost family home." "At this time, the archdiocese does not have a plan in place concerning the property," the archdiocese added. On Wednesday, a group of Polish priests working in Chicago came by the house, leading a prayer over the home and its community. "I feel like God has come to Dolton, so I'm excited," Davis said. House did not immediately respond to a request for clarification about his statement regarding a partnership with the Archdiocese regarding the pope's childhood home. The home is still listed for auction, with bids accepted until June 18.
