Bush limits federal eminent domain power

WASHINGTON – President Bush ordered Friday that federal agencies cannot seize private property except for public projects such as hospitals or roads.

The move occurred on the one-year anniversary of a controversial Supreme Court decision that gave local governments broad power to bulldoze people’s homes for commercial development. The opinion in the case involving New London, Conn., homeowners limited the homeowners’ rights by saying local governments could take private property for purely economic development-related projects because the motive was to bring more jobs and tax revenue to a city.

But the court also noted that states are free to pass additional protections if they see fit. In a backlash to the decision, many have done so, prohibiting so-called takings for shopping malls or other private projects.

Many conservatives – particularly in the West – see the decision as a dangerous interpretation of the “takings clause” in the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment, which allows the government to seize property for public use with just compensation.

Cities, though, see the takings power as an important tool for urban renewal projects crucial to revitalizing cities.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, welcomed Bush’s executive order. But since the federal government has only a limited role in such projects, he said Congress must do more. Cornyn has introduced legislation that would also bar federal funding for any state or local projects in which the land was obtained through eminent domain.

Doug Kendall, executive director of the Community Rights Counsel, which backed the city’s right to take the homes in the Connecticut case, said Bush’s order is relatively benign precisely because it doesn’t include the funding ban Cornyn and other property-rights advocates want.

Bush’s executive order directs the attorney general to make sure all federal agencies follow the new policy. The kinds of projects that Bush’s order says justify the taking of private property include parks, roads, medical facilities, government office buildings and utilities. Takings also would be allowed to prevent land uses that are harmful to the environment or public safety or to acquire abandoned property.

Larry Morandi, who follows state actions on eminent domain at the conference of state legislatures in Denver, called the president’s executive order “middle-of-the road” compared with some state laws that are more stringent.