You said..."Private citizens in Utah didn't wait to hear what the Supreme Court would say in Kelo. We pushed our legislators and governor to implement legislation expressly prohibiting these kinds of takings. So, the Kelo decision is largely a non-event as far as Utah is concerned."
It would appear that a solid red state such as yours could limit eminent domain activities....for the moment. Hope your State Supreme Court is on board with all this.
My concern is the motivation this ruling by the SCOTUS gives for big money business and developers to get involved in local and state government activities. My analogy is what CFR did to the proliferation of campaign monies...and the establishment of the 527's. The moral is...when big big money is involved....somebody will try to find a loophole or a way to defeat the law.
In addition...not all of us have the luxury of living in Utah.
This ruling will further polarize and divide the country...in terms of the states such as yours who have these regulations.
My advice...don't invest in real estate in a state which does not have the laws you have.
It would appear that a solid red state such as yours could limit eminent domain activities....for the moment The heartening thing about the Kelo decision is that it has apparently enraged folks on the left as well. Legislation considered unlikely or impossible yesterday, even in blue states, seems very possible this morning.
No doubt about it, there are powerful monied interests that are rejoicing over the Kelo decision. Eisenhower used to voice his concerns about a military-industrial complex. What we are facing here is a municipal-developer complex. It's impact is directly on the individual citizen and property owner.
But the municipal-industrial complex can be defeated.