State Index

New information added on November 13, 2007

“Connecticut Farmland Protected by State Agricultural Conservation Easement Cannot Be Converted to A Golf Course” - News Brief, PRFA, August 2007 “Connecticut’s Highest Court Kicks Homeowners Out For Private Development” - March 2004 The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled on March 3, 2004 that the New London Development Corp. could take private houses for a privately owned hotel and conference center, marina and upscale housing. Websites Connecticut State General Assembly link Connecticut State House of Representatives link Connecticut State Senate link

State News “Testimony By Carol W. LaGrasse, President, Property Rights Foundation of America, Before the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands of the Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives Regarding H. R. 1286, Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail Designation Act, October 30, 2007” The proposed 600-mile Washington-Rochambeau Historic Trail through nine states from Rhode Island to Virginia poses a threat to private property rights because of the National Park Service’s pattern of secrecy, lack of true public participation, piecemeal development, use of municipalities and non-profit agencies as false fronts, and use of eminent domain (directly, indirectly through local municipalities, and later to widen trails). Amendments to H.R. 1286 are proposed to eliminate these deficiencies. More on this topic: Trails—National “Eminent Domain Reforms at Every Level” - By Steven D. Anderson, Castle Coalition, Institute for Justice, Speech to the Ninth Annual National Conference on Private Property Rights (PRFA, Albany, N.Y., October 22, 2005) The majority’s point in Kelo v. New London that it must defer to a state deliberative body on the meaning of the Constitution borders on lunacy. Its point that state laws requiring some type of plan protect property owners from an overreaching government confirms the Court’s detachment from reality.  More on this topic: Eminent Domain — National “Local Citizen Organizing to Defeat Eminent Domain” - By Michael Cristofaro, Resident of the condemned Fort Trumbull neighborhood of New London, Speech to the Ninth Annual National Conference on Private Property Rights (PRFA, Albany, N.Y., October 22, 2005) The Cristofaro family gave up their first house to eminent domain, supposedly for a levee, but a private development was built there instead. They refused to move when the City’s New London Redevelopment Agency condemned their second home, and fought their way to the U. S. Supreme Court, where their case, Kelo v. New London, was defeated. Michael Cristofaro speaks about the injustice of eminent domain at every opportunity and is campaigning for the City Council. More on this topic: Eminent Domain — National “U.S. Supreme Court: Administrative State is King - Chilling Kelo v. New London Decision Dashes Trust in Top Court” - By Carol W. LaGrasse (PRFA, July 2005) As long as government has a plan, it may condemn private property to transfer it to another private party. The literal meaning of “public use” in the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment is rejected, replaced with the broader meaning of “public purpose.” The ruling strengthens a trend to the sovereign administrative state in several recent Supreme Court Rulings, most recently Gonzales v. Raich and U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. Securities and Exchange Commission. More on this topic: Eminent Domain — National Kelo v. City of New London: “Private Property At The Mercy Of Government” - By John McClaughry, Ethan Allen Institute, Reprinted by Permission. (This article appeared in most Vermont newspapers shortly after the ruling.) According to the June 23, 2005 ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in Kelo v. New London, government can take the property of A by eminent domain and turn it over to B whenever it thinks that B will pay more in taxes. More on this topic: Eminent Domain — National “Property Rights Foundation of America Submits ‘Friend of the Court’ Brief to U.S. Supreme Court opposing New London’s ‘Private Eminent Domain’” - By Carol W. LaGrasse (PRFA, September 2004) Connecticut’s highest court allowed New London to condemn properties owned by Suzette Kelo and others to transfer them to a private developer solely for the purpose of economic improvement. The property owners have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a hearing and PRFA has filed an amicus curiae brief in support of their petition. More on this topic: Eminent Domain — National “New Land Designation Threatens Northern New Jersey Communities” - By Carol W. LaGrasse (PRFA, December 8, 2003) The New Jersey delegation maneuvered the “Highlands Stewardship Act,” with $110 million for land acquisition, into the “Healthy Forest Restoration Act,” the bill that Western states ardently sought to reduce the risk of catastrophic forest fires, but the addition was stripped in conference. More on this topic: Government Land Ownership & Control — Nat’l “College Professors Advocate NY Metropolitan Area Biosphere Reserve - International attention would focus on wetlands” - Carol W. LaGrasse (PRFA, June 2001) The college scientists’ recommendation for a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve to include 31 counties from Connecticut through lower New York to New Jersey would be the “perfect” environmental scheme, wasting billions of dollars on wetlands and distracting millions of people from New York City’s eco-colonialism. More on this topic: Biosphere Reserves & World Heritage Sites Full proposal for New York Metropolitan Region Biosphere Reserve: “Biodiversity and the City: A Case Study of the New York Metropolitan Region”- by Cynthia Rosenzweig and William D. Solecki, presented on May 23, 2001 at the International Conference on Biodiversity and Society, sponsored by Columbia University Earth Institute and UNESCO. More on this topic: Biosphere Reserves & World Heritage Sites “Hydroelectric Dams Subject to FERC Relicensing—1998-2010” - from Positions on Property, Vol. 4, No. 1 (PRFA, Nov. 1998) (Jump to Connecticut information) More on this topic: National Dam Relicensing under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) “Existing National Heritage Areas and Areas Under Federal Study” Complete List - June 1997 (PRFA, June 1997) Connecticut: Quinebaug and Shetucket River Valley Heritage Corridor More on this topic: Heritage Rivers and Areas

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