Kelo was a bad decision, (articles here and here). But let's USE IT anyhow - (while we can; before the most effected states (LA & MISS) pass laws banning the practices which Kelo allows: chiefly, the seizure of private land by the state in order to give it to a private developer whose redevelopment of said land will have public benefit).
Vast tracts of fouled (and previously BLIGHTED) New Orleans property should be bought by a federal government trust - (overseen by the likes of Paul Volker and Colin Powell and Rudy Giuliani and Tommy Franks and Mario Cuomo and Paul Ueberroth and real estate developers Hovnanian, Trump and Rudin).
Then -- AFTER a master plan is developed, with new state of the art utility, port, and communications infrastructure mapped out and finaced by the commission -- neighborhoods should be put up for competitive bidding by PRIVATE developers.
The private developers would submit master plans of their neighborhood redevelopment - which would have to conform to the federal master plan for the overall city and the neighborhood. And their redevelopment plans would have to conform to historical architectutral standards set up by the commission to protect the CHARACTER of the city.
Private developers redeveloping NEIGHBORHOODS en mass (or at least redeveloping several square blocks at a time) would work faster, cheaper, and bring completed projects to the market sooner than anyone or anything else.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to redesign and redevelop New Orleans in a way which will leave the mistakes of the past in the past: no more ghetto projects; no more over-crowded poverty-stricken de facto segregated blocks, no more crack-houses.
Let's use Kelo. Let's begin NOW.
UPDATE - 9/21: Welcome readers of NRO's THE BUZZ!
2 comments:
Would you have to base it on Kelo? Aren't many sections of the New Orleans blighted thanks to Katrina? (Unsanitary and unsafe, significant number of deteriorated structures, adverse environmental conditions)
Jody;
In order for the ocal/state giovernment to sell condemned proerty to a PRIVATE developeer they would HVE TO USE KELO.
Without KELO, the government would have to use the condemned property (taken over by the government by use of "eminent domain") for an explicitly public development: hospitals; schools; power plants; highways; etc.
ONLY BY USING KELO - to SELL the condemned property to a private developer for redevelopment as PRIVATE property - can the government have the condemned property redeveloped as private (taxable)property.
This would be the BEST way to redevelop New Orleans.
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