City Council Votes For Eviction In Kelo Case

The city of New London, Connecticut, may have delivered a final blow in its long attempt to execute the power of eminent domain over 90 acres of residential land Monday night as its city council voted 5-2 in favor of "obtaining possession" of the properties of two holdout land owners. Susette Kelo and Michael Cristofaro are the last two homeowners on the contested site, on which the city has had plans for over a decade to build a mixed-use development with condos, retail, restaurants and office space. The city's determination has seen a steady stream of homeowners in recent years gradually settling with the city in exchange for their land.

The result of the Supreme Court's decision in favor of the city in 2005's Kelo v. City of New London has launched ordinances nationwide allowing municipalities to seize non-blighted private property for private commercial uses, so long as the new use benefits the municipalities with increased tax revenues and new jobs.

"New London Mayor Elizabeth Sabilia said Tuesday that she respected the plaintiffs' right to pursue their case all the way to the Supreme Court. But she said her small city desperately needed an economic infusion."

"'We've got a city of a little over 25,000 people,' she said. 'We are a distressed community, under any objective measure. The city of New London is 6 square miles, 50% of which is tax-exempt. This is a small whaling city, hard up by the sea. We don't have spare land to access in order to increase our tax base.'"