‘Takings’ power is eminent issue for DMC
“he Fifth Amendment protects citizens from having their property taken without just compensation, and the Minnesota Constitution has similar language, but reasonable people will always disagree about what’s “just compensation,” and also whether a project is truly “public” if a lot of private money is involved and private investors are going to make a ton of money from it.
Again, local government already has that power. There’s nothing new about it, and it’s frequently used, probably more frequently than we’re aware — again, with the property owner being compensated, hopefully fairly.
But the notion of the DMC Authority, or board, having that power for purposes of redevelopment is what concerns some people. Sen. Dave Senjem mentioned the “power of condemnation” as an issue within days after DMC was announced in January, and it’s come up repeatedly since then. Some people, including developers and historic preservationists, are concerned that billions of dollars in new projects will naturally lead to conflicts over how the property will be acquired.”
Post Billentin.com 1 March 2013.