Blighted Property Here?

Many of our Florida State legislators have underestimated the ramifications of the US Supreme Court's decision to seize private property for economic development gain. One only needs to look to Riveria Beach to understand the greed created by this US Supreme Court decision to seize homes to give to large developers.

The Riveria Beach plan hinges on a 2001 city-funded study that found whole sections of the city to be blighted or slum, under the statutes created by the Florida State Legislature. According to city's redevelopment plan, Riveria Beach residents, whose homes are under condemnation,will have to move to make way for the private development of the choice by their city council.

Has anyone every stopped to think that this could happen in the city of Brooksville? I served on the Brooksville Downtown Re-development Committee in 1999. We spent countless hours investigating the conditions for the city for redevelopment. Documents were drafted, and adopted, by the Brooksville City Council which sighted many areas of the city as being "blighted". This "blighted" designation was mandatory for the city of Brooksville when making application for CDBG grants with the state of Florida to rebuild their aging sewer and water systems and it also aided in the direct burial of underground electrical lines in downtown Brooksville during the bulb-out development. This "blighted" condition chosen by the city leaders was done in all good intentions to repair and rebuild the city of Brooksville. Just stop and think if an unscrupulous city leader chose to condemn housing areas and seize the property by eminent domain to give to private developers. The documents have already been drafted and approved designating the "blighted or slum" classification necessary for eminent domain seizure. This may be a far stretch of the imagination on my part but one only needs to look at Riveria Beach's poorest citizens being throw out of their homes.

The Florida Legislature needs to strengthen the penalties against local government that do not act in good faith, for the entire community, including the very poor districts, in reference to eminent domain abuse.