Eminent Domain Changes Not Imminent

From today’s Joplin Globe:

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri constitutional amendments restricting eminent domain are unlikely to be submitted for this November’s ballot because backers say lawsuits challenging the measures took too long to resolve.

“We have not officially thrown in the towel, but we have effectively thrown it in,” said Ron Calzone, chairman of Missouri Citizens for Property Rights.

Calzone said it is frustrating not to get the measures on the ballot, because he believes most Missourians would support reining in eminent domain. He said he plans to submit initiatives later this year for the 2012 election.

The proposed constitutional amendments were intended to prevent a person’s home, business or other property from being condemned for private development, such as a shopping center. They also would have taken away cities’ and counties’ ability to condemn property for redevelopment because of blight and instead create a court process to declare property a nuisance, clean it up and place a lien on it. Eminent domain still could have been used for roads and other public infrastructure.

Missouri Citizens for Property Rights submitted proposed ballot measures immediately after the November 2008 election. Legal challenges tied it up in the courts until March 19, when the state Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal. Petition signatures must be submitted to the secretary of state by May 2. Supporters would need about 150,000 signatures.

The lead plaintiff in the case was the Municipal League, which argued that ballot summaries for the proposals were unfair. A state trial court rewrote part of the summary for one of the ballot measures, and a state appeals court made additional changes in January.

Until then, it may be possible for municipalities to intervene by leveraging funding or by denying annexations or proper zoning.