Build On This!

by John Slagter.

On August 3, 2005, lawmakers introduced legislation in the Ohio Senate that would place a moratorium on the power of eminent domain in Ohio until the end of 2006. The senate bill proposes a moratorium on the use of eminent domain when used for private economic development in response to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New Haven. The proposed Senate bill would also create a 25-member task force to study the Kelo decision and make recommendations on ways the power of eminent domain can be changed to protect individual rights.

Fox News recently reported this morning that the U.S. Supreme Court will not revisit its decision in Kelo v. City of New Haven. Justice John Paul Stevens specifically commented last week in a speech in Las Vegas before the Clark County Bar Association that the ruling was legally correct, stating that the high court has "always allowed local policy-makers wide latitude in determining how best to achieve legitimate public goals."

A copy of Justice Stevens remarks on Kelo, Allapattah, Apprendi and statutory construction, among other topics, to the Clark County Bar Association in Las Vegas, Nevada can be viewed here: Download file

In Gross Builders, et al. v. City of Tallmadge City Council (Aug. 17, 2005), 9th App. Dist. No. 22484, 2005 Ohio 4268, the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Ninth District held that Tallmadge City Council improperly denied a developer’s application for a conditional use permit where the City's decision was based on its belief that the proposed use was inconsistent with the City's comprehensive plan. The Ninth District reasoned that the City's denial was improper because the comprehensive plan had never been incorporated into the City’s zoning code. Without incorporation of the comprehensive plan into the zoning code, the Court held that Council had no legal authority to deny the developer's application on the basis that it was inconsistent with the comprehensive plan.

The National Association of Realtors® reported recently that existing-home sales declined in July from a record in June, but home prices continue to rise at double-digit rates. According the Association's existing-home sales (EHS) data, total existing-home sales (including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops) dropped by 2.6 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.16 million from a record 7.35 million in June. Despite the small decline, "the level of existing-home sales in July was the third highest on record,” David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said. “This is a big number any way you slice it, and housing is continuing to stimulate the overall economy.”

However, some economists have expressed concerns over the U.S. Commerce Department's August 24, 2005 report that noted the median price of new homes fell to $203,800 in July, down 7 percent from June. The report also noted that new-home prices are down 4 percent from a year ago and 14 percent from February's peak sales price of $237,300.

The Plain Dealer reported this morning that Cleveland's Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) office would not be closed, saving more than 1000 jobs in downtown Cleveland.

In 1991, the Secretary of Defense created the DFAS to reduce the cost of Defense Department finance and accounting operations and to strengthen financial management through consolidation of finance and accounting activities across the department. Since inception, DFAS has consolidated more than 300 installation-level finance and accounting offices into 26, and reduced the work force from about 27,000 to approximately 16,000 personnel. The Cleveland office of DFAS was slated to be closed as part of this nationwide consolidation.

However, according to the article: “A federal commission on Thursday rejected the Pentagon's plan to shift more than 1,000 DFAS employees to three other cities. It then gave stunned and delighted DFAS workers another reason to rejoice when it announced that the Cleveland office would gain hundreds more jobs.”