Florida Town Votes Against Expanded Power to Condemn for Private Business
In 2002, the Hallandale City Commission voted down an ordinance that would have greatly expanded the City’s power to condemn land for private business. Some years ago, Hallandale created a business redevelopment district to attract developers. Developers complained that they were sometimes able to purchase only a portion of the land needed to carry out a project. Under the proposed ordinance, the City would have automatically been allowed to use eminent domain whenever a developer owned 60 percent of the desired property. City officials voted against this measure because they decided that “creating a blanket ordinance for redevelopment purposes throughout the city might be too costly and risky.”1 As it stands, the City commission will have to determine whether to condemn property on a case-by-case basis.2
1 Kai T. Hill, “Hallandale Votes Against Taking Land for Renewal,” Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Jan. 16, 2002, at 5B.
2 Id.