Excerpt from “The Politics of Land Grabbing” by David Morris, AlterNet:
“All states have statutes or constitutional provisions governing the conditions under which governments can take private property. Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, South Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky and California significantly limit that authority.
A 1976 California court opinion describes their approach.
Eminent domain “never can be used just because the (city) considers that it can make better use or planning of an area than its present use or plan. … (I)t is not sufficient to merely show that the area is not being put to its optimum use, or that the land is more valuable for other uses” to justify condemnation of property.”