I saw this story on Boing Boing and even though I’ve heard similar cases before, it baffles my mind of just how crazy this is and why it doesn’t get more press than this…
The argument with this one is that the place had a bad reputation for crime, even though the article cites that the actual statistics are pretty minimal. But even then, aren’t there other laws already in place to address this kind of thing on a less strict basis than “we’re keeping it!”?!
It never seemed right when I’d read a story about a local government seizing land to build a highway, either, or worse yet … a shopping mall. I think if the owners want to sell, then by all means, or even let the buyers pay 2x or 3x the price for reluctant sellers, but to just declare it a public interest and plunk down a considerably smaller sum that the owner would never settle on by himself?
Something’s not right there.