| The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star Norfolk TEMPER THE POWER OF EMINENT DOMAIN WITH FAIRNESS JOSEPH T. WALDO 02/06/2002 |
Here comes the bulldozer.
That's the news for more and more Hampton Roads residents each year. The bulldozer
is coming to make way for new and improved highways, to build schools, a museum,
and believe it or not, to take private property from one owner and sell it to another in the
name of economic development.
The city of Hampton used the Power Plant project to take private property from its citizens
and sell it to a developer. In Virginia Beach, property owners on 31st Street were forced
to give up their land for a project to benefit hotel developers. The bulldozer is on the
horizon, at Hilltop, Independence Boulevard, Lynnhaven Parkway, Holland Road and
possibly Shore Drive, and also for those in the path of the Southeastern Expressway.
Norfolk's East Beach Development, an affluent private development, is the result of the
widespread use of eminent domain . The Old Dominion University expansion project is
years from completion, yet it holds dozens of landowners hostage under the threat of
eminent domain .
In Roanoke, a retired dentist had his property frozen by the threat of eminent domain for
25 years.
In Chesapeake on the Kempsville Road widening project, the Virginia Department of
Transportation spent more than $1 million on its attorneys and experts alone to fight
property owners in court. VDOT hasn't won a case yet on that project.
Eminent domain serves a valuable purpose. Without it America's railroads would never
have joined the East and West coasts. Today's highways wouldn't be what they are.
Public utilities would not adequately serve our needs. However, with the power goes the
responsibility to use it wisely and fairly.
Virginia citizens who are forced to give up their land soon realize the obstacles they face
in obtaining just compensation. First, they learn that in the real world "just
compensation" never means full compensation. They receive less than their losses and
expenses. They learn that the government's staff appraisers are not held to the same
professional standards as private appraisers. Even when the property owner goes to
court and proves that the offer was cheap, the owner must nevertheless pay court costs,
expert fees and attorney's fees even though the government was wrong.
As these high-profile projects gear up for acquisition, Hampton Roads property owners
should be concerned. On July 1, several state laws expire unless the General Assembly
approves their continuation. Those laws include the right to receive a copy of the
government's appraisal along with the offer, the right to be compensated for a survey of
the property, and the right to have a copy of the government's title report.
Ironically, the playing field in Virginia, the cradle of constitutional liberty, is anything but
level. Thankfully a few leaders in the General Assembly have seen the system's
inequities and are supporting property owners' rights. These include Norfolk's Thelma
Drake, Virginia Beach's Bob McDonnell, Transportation Committee Chairman Marty
Williams and House Majority Leader Morgan Griffin.
No reasonable person wants to see badly needed public projects delayed or
suspended. However, the power of eminent domain should be used wisely and fairly. No
public project should be built on the backs of property owners in its path. Hopefully,
Virginia's legislature will step up to the plate this session.
(Copyright 2002)
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