"First, just as in eminent domain cases, the parties are PAID for the property. So implying that someone who has worked and slaved for a home is just forced to hand it over wihtout compensation is untrue."
Can you really know so little about how this works? I know of two examples in my area where this was crap.
example - a commercial property was purchased on the maine st. of a local town. The property was taxed at a rate of $36K a year (very small business in a poor community). The city decided they needed to widen the raod. They condemmed the property and offered the owner $12K. Apparently his $35K tax assessment only applied as 'fair value' till the city wanted to steal it. The owner hired a lawyer and his 'fair value' immediately jumped to $18K where it stood.
example- A town upstate wanted to take a property. They first rezoned the $200K property to allow commercial activity, dropping the 'fair market value' of the home by $60K overnight and then took it for that price despite a 5 year period of taxing the place at $200K
And another... In the 1930 the state leased some property from a landowner and built a dam. In the 1980's the local government taxed the property around the dam at about $100K. The state declared the area a wetland precluding any sale but maintaining the value for tax purposes. In the 1990's they ran out of money to maintain the dam. Situation today, there is a unmaintained state swamp being taxed as a more than $100K property while the wetland designation has reduced the actual property value to less than $3K when the owner decided to finally try to sell it to get out from under the tax debt. The city may end up with the mess as a tax seized property.
"fair value' is only the absolute least the city thinks it can get away with paying for their theft.
Yep, that's the mechanism.
And consider the actual devaluation of the property certain to result from this decision: these developers and municipalities can now pay less.
I wonder if the developers are giving any thought to the fact that their investments will be just as vulnerable?
I see this thing rippling through the real estate industry and worry.
Not me making the personal comments and not me that doesn't understand. Try reading again.