2006.03.20 EDA Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Editonalsreprebu... .. _.. IJ/ They are researched and written by the Editorial Department, which is independent of the newsroom. StarTribune J.KEITH MOYER,President and Publisher ANDERS GYLLENHAAL,Editor SUSAN AI.BRIGHT,Editor,Editorial Pages f SCOTT GILLESPM,Managing Editor JIM BOYD,Deputy Editor,Editorial Pages _t Think before axing •sldu:)sn 'fT1J° gau weminent domain ill ssaJ sa1aaq isnu do jauq aq Plnoil' pagsggndaia Auu ;o.Cliadoid alp- • Curbing governments power would chill urban revival. PUL,slaiia'I-(awc auotld pue uotledn Before swallowing whole the Drawing a sharp line between -It11M D44 apnput I notion that government's power public purpose and private gain is sn oI aetsnpXZ)aq of eminent domain should be se- all but impossible.There's poten- verely restricted, Minnesota leg- tial for private gain in every pub- '6S£V-£L sgod,eauur ny islators should look soberly at the lic action.Critics don't complain re1S'Iuau4ieda potential consequences. about condemning property for IJIO asMua Q Do they really want to dissuade roads and other public projects. •uzoa•� OT TTw-a Aq suot, the revival of older communities; Yet roads spawn enormous pri- to further starve older tax bases vate benefit. Just look at what's -utdoarliiolsaJapie (and school systems); to further built beside them. It's especially uoiledotiiEda concentrate poverty, and to en- ironic that roadside auto dealers ZSMRIA HnC courage urban sprawl and its ex- should complain about govern- pensive byproducts—traffic con- ment's authority to, as a last re gestion, environmental degrada- sort,condemn one private proper- -- — tion,energy waste and higher in- ty for another.No corporate inter frastructure costs? est has gained more from eminent T Hi sgodeauutW,D11HuN3 If not, they should consider domain than the auto industry. Pa cooler, more balanced reforms Some reforms are needed,but olid um; ppioa A than those sought by a nation- proposed changes in the blight ' Iunoum aip tuo.13 1 wide libertarian blitz against last and environmental standards go nes IIp iisu'.Il uo Iu� year's Supreme Court ruling in the too far.The greatest danger isn't dal Cue luunn I,uop iia Connecticut property rights case, that urban development would ate watudolanaf Kelo vs. New London.Yes, some stop entirely,but that a developer sell an lasap Aagl an local governments have bullied who discovers one reluctant sell- to -gond zagio 3o Iso property owners into condemna er would simply decide that busi- na `uollsa2uoo azoul tion proceedings to advance pri- ness is easier on the metro fringe, tic uegmgns wow 1eq vate development projects. But where taxpayers will be left with pr .SAvMg2111 that's rare in Minnesota. The bi- the costs of redundant infrastruc- do g2noo of ams ail partisan bill offered at the behest ture and the consequences of ur- sgmgns Apaaz2 mo' of a Washington-based property- ban neglect. S rights group and Minnesota's auto These arguments may well fail, Sytlgns ai dealers'association uses a sledge- not because they are wrong but be- 0 N I a N fI3 N O I.L hammer to swat a fly. Property cause they are complex.The liber- a owners deserve fairer compen- tarian lobbies have both momen- p' epolauu.W•Q-JVNOQ, sation, and should get it. But re- tum and emotion on their side. si moving local government's last- They use fear to portray proper- e Sri uo puels a uaxe ditch tool for redevelopment goes ty owners as helpless victims of f Aanax wqi pnoid i too far. predatory governments eager to e Bons zap Auap of 1 Are the people of St.Louis Park condemn their homes solely to a better off because of the Excelsior reward rich developers. It's the c Sl IMP I13auaq algiss4 and Grand project?Have people in kind of demagoguery that works -ap ags pue 'Ajiuno: southwest Minneapolis benefited at election time. -oes aleuniln znp apes from 50th and France?Is Richfield If legislators are,however,truly '(SZ•qa3'aunqu I,_wl better off with a Best Buy head- interested in the public good,they Regaq no 2ui1g2g.Ic quarters than a car dealership? will carefully examine the pro •uaS pue zie7 uog•d Has the whole metro region bene- posed changes,consider the con fited?We think it has,even though sequences and find a fair balance �I SaA. these cities used eminent domain between the interests of private ava A14V I (or its leverage)in each case. property and community. n