EDITORIAL
Government land power must be limited
A U.S. Supreme Court decision on the condemnation powers of local governments could have a broad and potentially negative impact here at home unless it is handled wisely.
The high court ruled, 5-4, that governments across the nation have the constitutional right to use their powers of eminent domain for private developments that make economic sense to the community.
The decision does not appear to be a general green light for willy-nilly condemnation of property for economic development. Rather, the majority appeared to be concerned about not stepping into an arena where local officials presumably would know what is best for their own community.
The problem, of course, is that the definition of "public good" is very much in the eyes of the beholder.
Hawai'i has long experience with this idea of condemning privately held land for the general public good rather than for a specific public purpose. The most obvious example is the Land Reform Act, which uses the state's powers of eminent domain to encourage (some would say "force") private landowners such as the Bishop Estate to sell to leaseholders.
In fact, that case was cited in the court's decision last week.
More recently, talk of city condemnation of private property in Waikiki to make way for Outrigger's redevelopment project may have encouraged private land-owners to sell.
There is a danger here of overreaching by state or local government. Good social policy may say it is not sensible to transfer property rights from one entity to another even if there are economic gains to be made.
Indeed, the Supreme Court said there is nothing in its decision to prevent local jurisdictions from passing their own sensible laws and restrictions regarding condemnation powers.
Before we make a mistake, we should — as a community — decide when it is appropriate for government to step in and shift assets like this. The bar for such actions should be set extremely high.
It is time for Hawai'i to begin a conversation on these matters. The right place to start is at the next legislative session.
