| COLUMBUS, Ohio — While the Ohio General Assembly’s Eminent Domain Task Force is to be commended for its transparent process and listening to public concerns, the final report on using eminent domain to take land falls short on some counts.
“The newly released final report puts the State on record against takings for the sole purpose of tax generation,” said Ohio Farmers Union (OFU) Govern-mental Relations Director Jeff Eschmeyer, “and while the report recommends the continued allowance of takings to rid blight, we were pleased to see it includes an exemption that agriculture land may not be a part of a blight taking.”
Eschmeyer said the report also included a recommendation to allow a property owner the right-to-repurchase for unused property seized by the government and allows for the payment of legal fees when the final price is 125 percent of the original offer.
”Farmers Union believes property owners should not have to pay to defend their property rights and supports this position; however, we would also like to see it extended to ‘quick takes,’ which the task force did not do,” said Eschmeyer.
Last week the Ohio Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in the Norwood case that criticized economic development takings.
“We applaud the decision in the Norwood case,” said Eschmeyer. “It was good to see the justices found that labeling a neighborhood as ‘deteriorating’ was not justification for a redevelopment taking.”
The task force also proposed a constitutional amendment to change Ohio law on takings.
This would seriously impact the current “home rule” law that gives local governmental control.
“Ohio Farmers Union has reservations regarding the recommended amendment regarding a statewide definition of blight,” said Eschmeyer. “In particular, we feel this erosion of the ‘home rule’ would have detrimental affects for Ohio property owners.”
The report has been submitted to the Ohio Legislature.
“While the task force recommendations are not binding on the Legislature, Ohio Farmers Union hopes the process will continue to be a democratic one and looks forward to presenting lawmakers with the family farmer perspective on property rights,” said Eschmeyer. “It is crucial that the General Assembly strengthen eminent domain law to ensure that property rights are valued. The power of eminent domain should never be abused by any entity in the state of Ohio - and when the power is used, there must be safeguards in place to guarantee that the process is always transparent and fair to property owners.” |
