Florida needs 35,000 acres to make 'Glades flow a go

The process is called eminent domain. This is the right of a government to take property for a public use. The process establishes fair market value and reasonable attorney's fees. No special deals, no last minute announcement of $1.7 billion dollar deals, no special rock mining rights. Bottom line - no politics or friends of politicians being unfairly enriched with taxpayer money. But we will soon see how they screw it up.

political junkie wrote:

The process is called eminent domain. This is the right of a government to take property for a public use. The process establishes fair market value and reasonable attorney's fees. No special deals, no last minute announcement of $1.7 billion dollar deals, no special rock mining rights. Bottom line - no politics or friends of politicians being unfairly enriched with taxpayer money. But we will soon see how they screw it up.

Amen brother. The use of eminent domain for this public purpose does not even carry with it any questionable private benefit, like many urban redevelopment projects do. The suggestion in todays article that use as "conservation land" INCREASES the value of the land is just nutty, I doubt the owners are willing to take the discounted stream of future tax benefits from such a designation as fair value. Negotiate in good faith quickly, offer what the land is worth under its current use, and then proceed to court. Heaven knows we pay our "public employee lawyers" more than most States, put them to work. With tightened environmment run off restrictions, the land may soon be valueless for sugar production anyway, which means it is just more swamp. This one needs watching for the reasons you suggest, and of course, the Sun Sentinel "journalists" do not have a clue.

political junkie wrote:

The process is called eminent domain. This is the right of a government to take property for a public use. The process establishes fair market value and reasonable attorney's fees. No special deals, no last minute announcement of $1.7 billion dollar deals, no special rock mining rights. Bottom line - no politics or friends of politicians being unfairly enriched with taxpayer money. But we will soon see how they screw it up.

Today, eminent domain, only applies when a city takes away houses, for a private developers project. When it involves a major politically connected business,deals will be made for big payoffs.

Oh yeah? WHY doesn't the government just TAKE the land? Because the Fanjuls are rich????

The government, local, state and federal, does anything AND everything it wants to the REST of us working stiffs!!!

What's up with that??????????

And in the so-called 'property tax reformation', all that was done is undone as soon as the cities and counties 'readjust' their taxing--the more things change, THE MORE THEY REMAIN THE SAME!!!!

Why don't our governments just adjust their SPENDING??????????

yeah, right..........