9 years after SCOTUS’ Kelo ruling, houses seized under eminent domain remain undeveloped
“According to a report by Jeff Jacoby for the Boston Globe, the homes belonged to people like “Susette Kelo, a local nurse who bought her little Victorian cottage on the Thames River because she loved its waterfront view; Wilhelmina Dery, who was born in her house on Walbach Street in 1918 and had been living there all her life.”
The Kelo ruling was controversial and precedent-setting because, under eminent domain, the government may seize the property of a private citizen when it’s deemed necessary for public use — the construction of an airport, freeway, or post office — and they usually do so politely, giving notice and paying out the appraised value, for example, but in this case the private property was being seized not for necessary public use but for commercial development by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.”
Sevcik, JC. UPI 20 March 2014.