Eminent Domain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Eminent Domain - Essay Example You are flustered, angry, dumbfounded, and at your wits' end! Why me! Don't I have the right to do what I like with my own property No, you don't! Not when you are up against eminent domain. The state government has enough powers under eminent domain to take over your property, pay you a 'just compensation' and raze your house to the ground and start with their redevelopment plans. (Karen Sudol) condominium, bigger business, hotel or retailer by which the exchequer stands to generate higher tax revenue, then the property in question comes within the purview of the statutory criteria for 'blight' in New Jersey for redevelopment and for the greater good of the public. Or if someone owns a farm or if the place was recently flooded, the government enjoys the right to seize the property to preserve open space and alleviate damages caused by natural disasters. There is little that the property owner could do other than go to the court. And the litigation can drag on for years! The government seizes the property after paying 'just compensation' which according to the disadvantaged owners is anything but just. The only ones happy are politically-connected developers who have everything to gain by eminent domain. The hapless property owner in New Jersey has almost nothing to fall back on by way of legal recourse. (Stop Eminent Domain Abuse). Nobody would have believed t... Suddenly, the azure, scenic location of the New Jersey waterfront are being consigned to the cutting and crashing sounds of monstrous, razing bulldozers. Thirty two blocks of homes and businesses have been condemned as areas deserving redevelopment plan for private purposes. The new landscape under the redevelopment plan will see condominiums, big retailers, hotels, golf courses, and the likes. While the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of eminent domain, the local residents, particularly the elderly who have spent their lifetime in the nostalgic precinct have reason to worry. And Ashbury Park is being keenly watched because nowhere else has eminent domain been arbitrarily pushed down the throat with such high-handed expression of legal enforcement. (Greetings from Ashbury Park) Need for Eminent Domain Sure, not everyone is complaining. A good number seeing the positive side, or just because they could not care less, have consented. The fence sitters did not see any point in fighting a protracted court battle, did not see any merits in fighting the battle even if they ultimately won it. The determined bid by politicians and developers was enough to deter any such prospect. At any rate, not everything envisioned in eminent domain looked bad. The area did look like it needed cleaning up a bit anyway. Then there are old, derelict houses infested with rats and are in fit or unfit enough condition to be demolished right away. Children and the elderly have quite often found themselves bitten by these rodents and it was unsafe particularly in the dark. The flip side of eminent domain is its commitment to preserve open space and redevelop with