PolicyGuy

Wednesday, November 30, 2005


Want to Stop Development? Buy the Land Yourself.
A group that wanted their city government to deny a zoning change request says that it would like to buy the land in question--but it's probably too late.

In the south suburbs of the Twin Cities, the Eagan City Council has paved the way for, well,
paving residential streets on what is now a golf course.

Here's the short version of the story: man buys golf course. Eventually wants to turn it into housing. Neighbors complain to city council, citing comprehensive plan and hinting at the use of eminent domain. Man files lawsuit against city, wins a preliminary ruling. Neighbors talk about buying the golf course. City comes to a settlement, agrees to change the plan to allow a scaled-back development.

A few days ago, news came out that opponents of the plan--the people who bought housing in newly developed area and then wanted to shut out everyone else--were assembling private financing to buy out the golf course. Too bad they didn't do that sooner, as I argued, at least as long ago as eleven months ago.

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"Justice Louis D. Brandeis'?s metaphor of the states as "laboratories" for policy experiments ... had almost nothing to do with federalism and everything to do with his commitment to scientific socialism. .... To this day, it continues to inhibit a truly experimental, federalist politics." -- Michael S. Greve

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