Hatch backs property rights
His bill would create federal go-between in land takings
Hatch's plan, called EMPOWER for the "Empowering More Property Owners With Enhanced Rights Act," would create a federal ombudsman for property owners who find themselves in the sights of federal agencies exercising eminent domain.
Hatch modeled his bill after a 1997 Utah law and the state's ombudsman, Craig Call. Hatch believes Call is the only such private-property ombudsman in the country. Hatch unveiled the bill because a U.S. Supreme Court decision last month said governments could take property for private development.
"The rights of private property owners is one of the most important and fundamental rights given to us in our United States Constitution," Hatch said.
"We can't just ignore this right, or decide in an irresponsible manner that this right really doesn't mean very much in the large framework we call government. We have to create better ways for property owners to protect our properties, as well (as) provide mechanisms for local, state and national governments to look out for the common good."
When Watson petitioned the city of Sandy to subdivide her lot, the city said she was required to pay for road upgrades and bury power lines at the edge of her property. Usually, subdivision requests come from developers with multiple lots who have to pay for infrastructure upgrades as part of their development. In this instance, however, Sandy told Watson to pay much more than she thought she ought to pay — so she called Call.
Through Call's work, Sandy eventually changed an ordinance to distinguish between large developers and individuals trying to split their lots. Now, Watson and her grandsons are moving ahead with their house plans.
The Supreme Court decision allowing eminent domain for private development will not immediately affect Utah. The decision gives leeway to states for creating their own eminent domain laws, and during the 2005 legislative session, lawmakers prohibited cities and redevelopment agencies from using eminent domain in redevelopment projects. Therefore, cities and agencies cannot use takings for private development; they still may use eminent domain for public projects such as roads, sewers and power lines.
Call, who has been the ombudsman for the last eight years, said he handles 1,000 calls a year. Of those, he works on about 300 cases where property owners need an outside diplomat to work with an agency on their behalf. Roughly 100 cases require him to serve as a mediator, and Call recommends a couple dozen or so cases for arbitration each year, he said.
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