Eminent Domain - Riviera Beach gets their money's worth:

[Coexist]

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/02/12/State/What_s_a_proper_price.shtml

Babson paid $35,000 in 1993 for the little block home and the empty lot next door. She painted the house aqua. She carved a path in between the plants so she could pad around barefoot and always see the water of the Intracoastal, just a few hundred yards away
<snip>

Babson voted for Brown. But only a few months after he was elected, Brown announced his idea: create a Community Redevelopment Area near the waterfront, so that a developer could build marinas, yacht construction companies, condos, shops and parks. In all, the plan encompassed 858 acres and had the potential to affect 2,262 households, or almost 20 percent of the city. Designating a Community Redevelopment Area meant that the city could take properties for "public purpose" - as long as those properties met the definition of blight.

<snip>
But Babson found out that the developer behind the project only wanted to pay 30 percent above what the county said her home was worth: about $75,000.

<snip>

The closing took a half hour. She got $732,000 for her home (it was recently assessed at $200,000, according to county records), enough to buy a new car and a place in Gainesville, where she can realize her dream of being a Thai massage therapist.

... Community pressure and national coverage helped these people get fair market value for their homes. Not the best outcome - most would've wanted to stay -but at least they can afford to move now.

[Coexist]

1. I'm going to self-kick this thread because it made me feel so good

that the little guy (sort of) won and was paid what she should have been - instead of developers just railroading everything.

Here in Tampa, we have rules that say that developers can't take out trees of a certain diameter - the developers go in on a Sunday and remove them anyway, then pay a small fine as punishment. It sickens me. They bulldoze under endangered species, then pay a small fine as punishment. They don't care.

They ALWAYS find a way to laugh at those who care. This was a good day for those who care.