A little more wiggle room
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lawmaker in Utah's Dixie is attempting to bring a little sunshine to downtown Ogden.
Rep. Stephen Urquhart, R-St. George, may not be sponsoring House Bill 365 specifically to do Ogden any favors, but if he's successful, it may help Junction City to revitalize its central business district. HB 365 aims to restore some sanity to the state's laws concerning eminent domain -- when the government condemns a private property owner's land for another use.
Two years ago, the Legislature made it impossible for governments to condemn blighted land for commercial uses. In Ogden's case, the law killed the city's ability to condemn land for redevelopment into a Wal-Mart Supercenter at 21st Street and Wall Avenue, and slowed progress on commercial and residential redevelopment of land along the Ogden River between Washington Boulevard and Wall Avenue.
The legislative action in 2005 seemed to erupt in a spasm of anger toward other cities having declared farm land as "blighted" and bestowing favorable RDA concessions to developers in an effort to attract big-box retailers. Ogden's redevelopment areas, which everyone seemed to agree fit the textbook definition of blight and needed to be cleaned up, got trampled in the rush to get tough on RDA abuse.
Whatever Urquhart's motives may be -- the Utah League of Cities and Towns is a prime mover behind the legislation -- we think he's on the right track with HB 365. It nicely balances individual property rights and the government's power to condemn property for commercial purposes.
As we've noted before in this space, we've always been uneasy about the notion of government being able to take one person's private property and sell it to someone else for economic development. Eminent domain ought to be a last resort, and manifestly in the public interest.
Likewise, we think it's unfair that one or two defiant property owners can halt progress on projects that serve the greater public good. Ogden has encountered just this situation in both the Wal-Mart and Ogden River projects.
Urquhart's bill would require that property owners ask a city to condemn their land. For the city to proceed, it would need the consent of 75 percent of property owners who control at least 50 percent of the land in question. Then, in order for a redevelopment agency to condemn the land, two-thirds of its members would have to vote in favor of condemnation. And, much as the law reads now, the price tag for re-establishing a family or business in another location would be more than the fair market value of the property, if that's what it takes to get the job done.
We have always agreed that lots of RDA abuse has occurred throughout Utah in years gone by. But some cities, like Ogden, have actual blight. The Legislature now has a chance to make things right with Junction City, and we hope lawmakers avail themselves of this opportunity.
