Eminent Domain Update

On March 18, I wrote about the Missouri Supreme Court's decision in City of Arnold v. Tourkakis, which held that the Missouri Constitution does not prohibit municipalities of any size from seizing private property for the sake of private development.  Today, the Post-Dispatch published a column by the dentist whose land is being taken by Arnold on its op-ed page.  Homer Tourkakis states his case very well.  And, he's resigned to his fate.

While I believe the Missouri Supreme Court correctly decided the case before it, I strongly oppose the notion that eminent domain should be used to take land from one private person and give it to another.  I suggested that "somebody" needed to act to protect landowners from this type of government land grab.  

Well, that somebody might just be Homer Tourkakis and Missouri Citizens for Property Rights.  That organization, with Tourkakis on its board of directors, is pushing a ballot initiative to protect Missouri property owners from eminent domain abuse.