Mover Mike

Since the Kelo decision, I'm reading that a number of states have constitutions that prohibit "Private to Private" eminent domain usage. From the CouriorPost Online

Opponents of redevelopment zones in South Jersey said Thursday they are disappointed but not defeated by the court's (Kelo) decision.

"They didn't take into account how elected officials are influenced by developers," said Carmen Rivera, president of the Cramer Hill Residents Association, a group opposed to a $1.3 billion redevelopment proposed for its neighborhood. "I'm saddened."

The Cramer Hill plan would uproot more than 1,000 households and businesses.

Olga Pomar, a lawyer for South Jersey Legal Services, which is contesting the Cramer Hill redevelopment in state court, said the fight is by no means over.

"One of the things the Supreme Court said is that these issues should be left to the states," Pomar said.

...snip...

Supporters of redevelopment called the decision both expected and welcome.

"The decision follows what the court has been saying for the last century," said Jim Maley, the mayor of Collingswood and an attorney who specializes in redevelopment law in New Jersey.

And, he suggested, the case was never critical for New Jersey.

"The New Jersey Constitution has a higher standard," Maley said, requiring a blight determination before eminent domain can be invoked, something that is not required in Connecticut.

Camden (NJ) has declared the Cramer Hill neighborhood blighted and Mount Holly has done the same with Mount Holly Gardens, a townhouse development.

"We feel the neighborhood is not blighted at all," Gershuny said of Cramer Hill. "It's a very viable neighborhood."

South Jersey Legal Services' suits also accuse Camden and Mount Holly of civil rights violations, as the two neighborhoods declared blights are minority neighborhoods.

Randy Primas, Camden's chief operating officer, said the city wasn't using eminent domain to benefit developers or to push out Cramer Hill's current residents.

The developers are going to sell the new homes to current residents for well below their market rate, or at the homeowner's existing mortgage, he said.

"This is an effort to keep them in," Primas said.

How can a developer sell a new home well below the market rate or at the homeowner's existing mortgage? Who is subsidizing him, the buyers of the other units or the government?

Eminent Domain