Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the House on June 29, 2005, to revise the law that allows local governments to establish a “port economic development authority,” which applies primarilly to Detroit-Wayne County Port Authority. The bill grants the authority more extensive powers borrow and to undertake “activities that foster transportation, economic development, housing, recreation, education, governmental operations, culture, or research.” Among many other provisions the bill contains language establishing “promoting economic growth” as “an essential public purpose,” which would potentially allow the exercise of eminent domain over private property, and other regulations

The vote was 107 in favor, 1 opposed and 2 not voting

(House Roll Call 401 at House Journal 75)

Click here to view bill details.

Early in 2005 the Michigan Supreme Court reversed the infamous "Poletown" decision, and reimposed limits on the ability of local governments to take property under eminent domain for use by private redevelopers. Condemnation can only be used in Michigan for traditional public purposes, such as roads or utilities. This gives Michigan stronger protection of property rights than is now available under the US Constitution following the June, 2005 US Supreme Court "Keho" decision that gave condemnation power to local governments for any private use approved by the government. It was only a matter of time before the Michigan legislature tried to find a way around the state court decision, and its first attempt is in this bill. HB 5029 would give local governments the ability to form a port authority, to build port facilities or related infrastructure. Port facilities means more than harbors and docks: it means any economic-development facility within or without the port lands, for the purposes of transportation, economic development, housing, recreation, education, governmetal operationns, culture, or research. That pretty much covers the waterfront. To try to get around the reversal of the Poletown decision, this bill states that anything that increases property value is a public purpose. This leaves Michigan property owners vulnerable to the kind of abuse that took place in New London, Connecticut and precipitated the Keho decision. If you own waterfront land anywhere in Michigan, you should be aware that this bill would give your local government the ability to force you to sell it for whatever scheme your city council, county commission, or port authority dreams up. Actually, any land anywhere could be appropriated under this bill. If the local government decides a big developer's condo or marina would look better on your property than your cottage, you're out of there. It will always be cheaper to buy a city council than a lot of lakefront land, and that's all a developer has to do to force you to sell - at his price. If you want to keep your waterfront land, keep this bill from passing.

The exact opposite of this bill should be passed. This bill allows a city council to condemn your home if it thinks it may be able to get higher property taxes by selling it to someone else. This complete turns Proposal A (1993) on its head. It contributes to uncertainty in the real estate market. It opens the door to government abuse. I can't think of a more harmful bill. We need a bill that legislatively recognizes the overturn of "Poletown" as the law of the land. Specifically, that economic benefit may NEVER be used as a rational for eminent domain decisions. That condemnation ONLY be allowed for PUBLIC purposes, and NEVER for ANY private purposes, regardless of any hoped for economic benefit. That ANY sale of state-owned property be at public bid and that the highest cash price be accepted, without factoring in any guessed-at economic benefit. This should be the first priority of our legislators, even before health, education, or governmental employee pay raises.

This bill has now passed the Michigan House with only one dissenting vote, gaining the votes of those representatives who are posturing in support of laws to restrict the use of eminent domain. The House Transportation Committee was told that this bill contains protections against abuse of eminent domain. Not true. This bill was crafted by the Wayne County Port Authority to permit EXACTLY the kind of abuse of property rights allowed by the Kelo Decision, and the recently-overturned Michigan Poletown Decision. Let's see how this bill will work in practice: Let's imagine, say, a college town somewhere east of Lansing, Michigan, where there's a neighborhood composed of a big, depreciated apartment block that is the scene of occasional nasty riots, some crummy, student-occupied housing mixed in with a few houses occupied by elderly long-time residents, and some animal-house fraternities. The mayor (let's call him the Honorable Carmine DePasto) and the city planners would like to replace this mix of blighted land uses with tonier condos, and move those zoo fraternities and students to new, anthill-like apartments recently built on the edge of town. HB 5029, in the interest of reversing "property value deterioration detrimental to the state economy" permits using a port authority for housing projects. They're not just for boats, anymore. Mayor DePasto implores his pal, the Governor, to let the city form a port authority - let's call it the Port Authority of Faber, Michigan. The Port Authority of Faber condemns the land, and those noisy students and property owners are, in the words of Dean Vernon Wormer of Faber College, "out of here like crap through a goose." Luckily, the Mayor knows a real-estate developer who wants to build just the kind of high-rent condos the city wants to see on the high-value riverfront land. If Mayor DePasto and the city council retire a few years later to much plusher retirement homes than most mid-Michigan public servants can afford, no one notices. No one in the Senate should say they weren't warned about this bill. To quote the illustrious Dean Wormer, it'll be "no more fun of any kind" for property owners in some cities if this bill gets signed and acted on by the Governor.

House Bill 5029 would hugely expand the powers of the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority. The DWCPA is a tiny bureaucracy charged with promoting waterborne shipping from Detroit. It has done nothing throughout its history except soak up a several hundred thousand dollars in state subsidies. It has proved itself completely worthless, except to one person: Matty Moroun, owner of the Ambassador Bridge. Recently the Port Authority concluded an agreement with a Moroun company which transfers the Authority's powers to the Ambassador Port Company. These powers include the ability to condemn land for port facilities, including a second Ambassador Bridge. These powers were of little use to the moribund Port Authority, but energized with the massive capitalization flowing from Bridge tolls, they create an agency of considerable power. This power would be expanded beyond precedent by HB 5029. This bill gives the DWCPA and, by the agreement, the Moroun companies, unlimited power to condemn land anywhere for any kind of real-estate deal. It is impossible to tell where this power would reveal itself, but the Bridge company has already announced that it intends to build a new bridge as part of its deal with the Port Authority. This bill would allow it to plunk the Michigan end of the bridge down wherever it wants. Another likely point of attack by the DWPCA-Moroun partnership is Algonac, where the company would have unlimited power to condemn land for its new bridge to Harsen's Island. The weird scheme to force Detroit-Windsor Tunnel traffic to drive two miles to customs booths at the Ambassador Bridge, and then two miles back downtown before using the Tunnel becomes almost real under this agreement. The Port Authority could condemn all the land needed for this monopoly deal, and no agency would have the power to stop it. Ironically, many of the sponsors of HB 5029 campaigned on platforms of opposition to the Bridge company's treatment of southwest Detroit neighborhoods. The agreement between DWCPA and Moroun turns the sponsors of this bill into agents of the Bridge company.

Here you go again. Why are you guys in lansing always trying to erode the power of the people in the city of Detroit? This is a good reason why we citizens know that people in Detroit cannot put any faith in this legislative body because you have no intention on doing any “right”. Can you please cut your salaries? The billion we pay is much too much for what we get from this body.

i don't know how the port issue affects west michigan, but, if we would get half the money wayne county alone gets from lansing, things would sure be a lot different around here. not to mention the u. p.. i don't blame them for wanting to be thier own state. it's all about south eastern michigan.