Cuccinelli campaigns for eminent domain amendment
“Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli came to town Thursday to highlight a property dispute that he says shows why voters should pass a state constitutional amendment in November to further limit government’s ability to seize private property.
Cuccinelli said housing authorities have been the “most aggressive at grabbing property.” He said southeast Virginia is where the worst “abuses of property rights” have occurred.
The constitutional amendment, which will be on the Nov. 6 ballot, would force government to go beyond purchasing the property and require compensating property owners for lost profits and access. It would also put the burden on government to prove that the seized property would be devoted to public use, which Cuccinelli said has been an underappreciated part of the amendment.
In the Norfolk cases, the properties would be turned over to ODU’s Real Estate Foundation, which works with private developers to bring more housing and shops to the area.”
Nolin, Jillin. Virginia Pilot 7 September 2012.