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Pros And Cons Of Exercise Eminent Domain

Decent Essays

Although eminent domain is sometimes necessary, there should be limits placed on it to ensure that individual property rights are never trampled on. This essay will explain at what times government officials should have the right to exercise eminent domain, the extent of which the current occupant should be satisfactorily compensated, and an engineer’s duty to the public to only accept projects where the previous property owners are content in the arrangements of their dismissal.
The government should exercise eminent domain cautiously to ensure that individual property rights are seldom taken away. In 2005, the ruling of Kelo v. City of New London “allowed state and local governments to take private property and transfer it to other private owners to promote ‘economic development’” (Somin 1). The promotion of economic development, however, is not sound reasoning to transfer private property from one private owner to the next. The only instance when this may be acceptable is when the property in mention is no longer in use. Some examples include …show more content…

According to Texas law, “the landowner [should] be compensated for the portion of the property actually taken and the damage to the landowner's remaining property” (Ellis 6). However, the compensated cost should include more than just the price of the land and the cost of damages. Efforts should be made to compensate for all relocation costs. This compensation includes but is not limited to, costs of finding and establishing a new location, costs for advertising a new location and the costs required to model the new area to suit the individual’s needs. In the end, if it is to society's benefit that a business or person relocates, all efforts should be made to fully compensate the individual in his/her relocation process, otherwise the owner has the right to refrain from giving up his/her

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