 |
|
Riviera Beach, Florida Eminent Domain
Wells v. City of Riviera Beach
|
|
|
“I built this home, raised my children here and am raising my grandchildren here.” -- IJ client Princess Wells.
|
The City of Riviera Beach has placed the specter of eminent domain over an 800 acre area so that as many as 5,100 residents, as well as many small businesses can be replaced with a yachting complex, luxury housing and other private commercial uses. “Riviera Beach represents one of the largest and most blatant abuses of eminent domain in the country,” said Dana Berliner, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice. “Its plan to transfer valuable waterfront property to private developers is illegal and un-American.”
In the 2005 now-infamous case of Kelo v. New London, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the U.S. Constitution allows the taking of property for private economic development, but it also pointed out that states may offer more protection. The Florida legislature did just that and on May 4, 2006, passed a statute to prohibit such takings. Governor Bush signed the law on May 11, 2006. But Riviera Beach’s City Council voted on the night of May 10, 2006, to authorize signing an agreement to agree with developer Viking Harbor Inlet Properties that the City would use eminent domain to take property for the project. Riviera Beach’s Mayor has already announced that the City plans to argue that Florida’s new law does not apply to Riviera Beach.
IJ’s lawsuit will establish that any use of eminent domain for the project would violate both Florida’s new law prohibiting eminent domain for private development and Florida’s Constitution. “The Florida Supreme Court has not heard a case about eminent domain for private development in more than 30 years. Florida residents and businesses need to know if the Florida Constitution allows private property to be taken merely for upscale housing and businesses,” Berliner added.
|
|