Re: Is happening here too....

> In this case it is "supposed" to be for the greater good, but
> here locally in a place called Merritt Island, Florida there are about 25
> families who are about to lose their homes.

> Their homes are located on the border of a fairly major highway that leads
> from Orlando to Port Canaveral. This roadway, known for years as "The
> Beeline Expressway" is being targeted for more traffic to the beaches
> in our county and to the port. (More tourist) They recently pushed through
> approval at state level to rename the roadway "The Beachway
> Expressway" because, in the words of those in charge of getting more
> tourist coming in, "It will tell people where the road will take
> them; to the beach."

> And so all of that additional (anticipated) traffic means that the
> "Beachway" now needs to be widened to 6 lanes. Which means that
> those homes have to be knocked down to make room.

> Our housing values locally have shot up beyond anyone's dreams. My house
> cost me $60k in 1990 and you would now pay $250k believe it or not. So,
> literally, those people will not be able to afford to relocate because the
> state will be paying "fair market value". According to local
> news sources this rarely means the actual amount that the home could have
> otherwise have sold for and usually means about 20% less. This would mean
> if their homes are worth the reported $200k each as reported they will
> receive about $180. $70k short of getting a replacement home. And my $250k
> home is small by anyone's standards. The homes being knocked down are
> twice the size of mine. Translation: the actual replacement cost would be
> closer to $300k.

> This IS America and I simply do not understand how any governmental entity
> in a truly free nation can take homes and land away from the very people
> who pay for the government representation in the first place.

> Is it just me or is this getting out of hand? Gas is $2.50 a gallon, men
> and women are dying in places where they are not necessarily appreciated
> or wanted, the government and the very court that put a man in our
> nation's highest office in 2000 is condoning the taking of property, and
> the hits just keep on rolling. Frankly I miss the "good ol'
> days" when the only thing we had to worry about was a stain on a
> dress.

> Whatever happened to "a man's home is his castle?

> Jim Wilson

I could get on a soap box here but I won't. I'll just keep is short. According to the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,

". . . .nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

The problem with the recent court decision is that before, the government defined "public use" as for reasons just as you have cited in Florida; construction of roads, dams, railroads, etc. With the recent court decision, "public use" now means "more tax revenue" so your ancestral home or anything else can now be bulldozed to make way for a strip mall because commercial property brings in more tax revenue.

Should you be upset? You betcha!