Anaheim, CA's 'Anti-Kelo' Approach

Anaheim, California, serves up an alternative to Kelo in the form of promoting competition, loosening business restrictions and lowering taxes, writes Steven Greenhut.

1 minute read

April 7, 2006, 12:00 PM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Anaheim's old downtown was obliterated in the 1970s through past uses of eminent domain and urban renewal. Now, the city (population: 328,000) wants to build a new downtown, and the target location is called the Platinum Triangle, an area of one-story warehouses near Angel Stadium. In the typical world of redevelopment, officials would choose a plan and a developer, offer subsidies and exclusive development rights, and exert pressure on existing property owners to leave the area.

Instead, Anaheim created a land-value premium by creating an overlay zone that allowed almost any imaginable use of property. Because current owners could now sell to a wider range of buyers, the Platinum Triangle is booming, with billions in private investment, millions of square feet of office, restaurant and retail space, and more than a dozen new high-rises in the works."

Thursday, April 6, 2006 in The Wall Street Journal

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