Edgewood, WA Real Estate Blog

The US Supreme Court’s 2005 Kelo decision says the US Constitution does not prevent state and local officials from seizing people’s homes and small businesses and giving them to private developers.

In a split 5-4 decision, the judges said local officials can take private property to promote “economic development”, increase their tax base, and meet the “diverse and always evolving needs of society.”

Think it can’t happen here, that our state constitution prohibits it? It’s happening now. Under Washington’s Community Renewal Law (CRL), once an area is declared “blighted” (a vague and subjective term that could apply to almost any property in Washington) the government can condemn the homes and business in the area and transfer them to private developers.

Under CRL, any property that constitutes “an economic … liability” may be condemned and transferred to a private developer. “Economic liability” includes areas that “contribute little to the tax income of the state and municipalities.”

The “economic liability” standard is not the only vehicle for eminent domain abuse provided by CRL. “Blighted area” is defined in state law (RCW 35.81.015(2)) to mean an area that is afflicted with a range of “problems,” many of which are outside the control of residents. Many innocuous things constitute legal blight including “diversity of ownership.” You own your home, your neighbor owns their home – since you have more than one owner involved in your neighborhood – your property is blighted by definition.