Eminent domain hobbles Kansas recovery efforts

If it’s not one thing, it’s another. The same weekend that floodwaters tore through southeast Kansas over the summer, a new state law took effect which is stalling some towns as they try to rebuild. Eminent domain legislation was meant to protect property owners from the heavy hand of government, but officials in storm-torn cities now say they are the ones who need protection. They worry that this new red tape will keep them from restoring what they once had. Kansas City Star’s Laura Bauer and Jim Sullinger write that as of 1 July, the new law says, local governments can no longer seize land and use it for private development without permission from the Kansas Legislature. Lawmakers wanted to prohibit instances in which private property was seized to build a commercial enterprise, but the law applies to private housing as well. This is a problem for the devastated towns, because some residents just walked away from their properties after the July floods and May tornadoes. With no guarantee that legislators will approve a seizure, communities could be left with prime residential property that stay abandoned. Towns may not get back the housing they need. “We’re stuck,” said Bret Glendening, city manager of Osawatomie, where the city has not yet found the owners of about fifteen properties. “If people walk away, the city can’t ensure that property is useful again. … The goal isn’t to take someone’s property. We need to assure that our community is able to grow and sustain itself.” Glendening was among the city officials who told lawmakers in Topeka recently that restoring lost housing was the No. 1 priority in their storm-damaged towns. Glendening and others hope the state can relax the eminent domain law for towns recovering from natural disasters.

Cities can clear debris from private property without permission of the owner, but they cannot demolish abandoned property until they have purchased it or declared the property unsafe and completed the condemnation process. In some cases, that could take years. In Coffeyville, where the floodwaters led to a leak at an oil refinery, the town lost about 10 percent of its housing. “We don’t have any idea of how many people will walk away at this point,” City Manager Jeff Morris said. In Greensburg, about 90 percent of the debris had been cleared by mid-August , but much of the remaining 10 percent was on abandoned property.

Since January 2006, all but three Kansas counties have been declared disaster areas.