Susette Kelo lost her “little pink house” in 2005 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the New London Development Authority could use the state’s delegated power of eminent domain to acquire private property for economic development by a private party. The decision was met with cries of outrage nationwide. “Never again,” opponents shrieked, few louder than many members of the Connecticut legislature, one of whom said: “You work hard, you save some money, you buy a house. That’s the great thing about this country, and government has no right to take that home from you for economic purposes.”

So in 2007 our state legislature revised Connecticut General Statutes §8-193, which governs the acquisition and transfer of real property by a development agency via eminent domain. Significant changes and additions included: a prohibition against acquiring property for the primary purpose of increasing local tax revenue; a requirement that a public hearing be held on any proposed acquisition; a requirement that the local governing body weigh the public benefits against the benefits to a private developer; a determination that the property to be acquired cannot be integrated into the development project; a determination that taking the property is reasonably necessary to achieve the goals of the project; and compensation to the owner of 125 percent of the appraised value of the property.

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