[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Norwood 5-16-2006
by Ord. No. 06:08. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to state that it is the public policy
of the Borough of Norwood that the Mayor and Council will not use the power
of eminent domain granted to the Borough by statute or otherwise to acquire
private property against the wishes of the property owner for private development
merely to increase tax ratables or tax revenue derived from the property,
and that this power only will be used to acquire private property: 1) when
the property is to be opened to the public or for the public's use; or
2) when the acquisition is necessary to eliminate an existing use of the property
that inflicts an affirmative harm on society. The Mayor and Council adopts
this section because, on June 23, 2005, the United States Supreme Court decided
the case of Kelo v City of New London, 125 S. Ct. 2655 (2005). The Court's
5 to 4 majority affirmed the use of the governmental power to condemn property,
known as the power of eminent domain, to acquire privately-owned property
against the owner's will and then transfer the property to a developer
for private redevelopment only because the proposed redevelopment will provide
increased tax revenue. The principal dissenting opinion, authored by Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor, would permit governments to condemn and then transfer
condemned property to private parties in only two circumstances: when (as
with railroads) the property is to be opened to the public's use, or
when the condemnation is necessary to eliminate an existing use of the property
that "inflict[s] affirmative harm on society." Accordingly, the Mayor and
Council seeks to do all that it can under the law to limit the Borough's
power to condemn and acquire property, as suggested by the dissenting Justices
in the Kelo case.
In this chapter the following definitions shall apply:
The Borough of Norwood.
The power of the Borough, whether authorized by statute, rule or
regulation, or otherwise, to take or acquire private property and put it to
public use through the legal process called condemnation.
The duly elected Mayor and Council of the Borough.
The Mayor and Council of the Borough shall not adopt an ordinance or
resolution using the Borough's power of eminent domain to acquire private
property against the wishes of the property owner for private development
to increase tax ratables or tax revenue derived from the property, and this
power only will be used by the Borough to acquire private property: 1) when
the property is to be opened to the public or for the public's use; or
2) when the acquisition is necessary to eliminate an existing use of the property
that inflicts an affirmative harm on society.
