***** AMERICA: Angry citizens get their say on eminent domain


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Topic: Science > Prophecies-Of-Nostradamus
User: "Definitely a sick minority..."
Date: 14 Mar 2006 09:14:39 AM
Object: ***** AMERICA: Angry citizens get their say on eminent domain
THE ONLY REAL WY THAT THEIR VOICES CAN BE HEARD IS THROUGH CIVIL WAR.
***** AMERICA
Angry citizens get their say on eminent domain
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
BY STEVE CHAMBERS
Star-Ledger Staff
A legislative committee considering reform of the state's sweeping
redevelopment law got an earful yesterday from property owners facing
seizure of their houses or businesses.
"We're real people with real lives who are being affected," said Linda
Brnicevic, a Bound Brook resident who was flooded out by Hurricane
Floyd but now faces the loss of her property to a downtown
redevelopment plan.
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The hearing followed a protest by about 40 residents outside the
Statehouse Annex and featured members of the public who were shut out
of the committee's first hearing last month, which was dominated by
planners, lawyers and elected officials who support the law.
Olga Pomar, a lawyer with South Jersey Legal Services, said she was
pleased that people like her clients in Camden were getting an
opportunity to speak. But she said late notice of the weekday hearing
made it difficult for working-class people affected by redevelopment
plans to attend.
"Look how many people showed up in spite of those hurdles," Pomar said.
"Imagine what would happen if they held a well-advertised hearing on an
evening or weekend. You can see how compelling this issue is."
The state law allows towns to seize private property deemed "in need of
redevelopment" using powers of eminent domain and hand it over to
private developers. Supporters call it a vital tool for alleviating
urban blight, but critics say it has been abused by politically
connected developers.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of eminent domain by
government for purposes of redevelopment, but the decision prompted a
national outcry and a campaign by property rights groups to curtail its
use.
Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester), chairman of the Assembly
Commerce and Economic Development Committee, which held the hearings,
said he is determined to investigate all sides and correct any flaws in
the 1992 law.
"We need to restore public confidence that government is not lurking
around the corner waiting to steal someone's property," he said.
Critics have been pessimistic about their chances to repeal the law,
given the fact that redevelopment is a clarion call in
Democrat-controlled urban areas and powerful groups like the state
League of Municipalities are battling such a severe step.
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