Tougher condemnation rules proposed

Thursday, March 17, 2005 | 10:08 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A bill that would give landowners more rights and make it harder for community redevelopment agencies to condemn property is headed for more discussion before a subcommittee of the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Assemblyman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, said he sponsored Assembly Bill 143 to further protect homeowners or businesses that might be condemned to make way for businesses or homes that would bring in higher tax revenues.

But local governments offered numerous amendments Tuesday to the Judiciary Committee at the hearing and the bill will be reworked in a subcommittee. The measure got the support of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce represented by Christina Dugan who said there is a "need to preserve property rights."

The bill requires a redevelopment agency to follow certain procedures before beginning condemnation. There are no complaints about condemning property for highways or roads, but there is a concern when homes and businesses are taken to make way for other businesses or homes that will pay a higher property tax to local governments, lawmakers said.

Horne showed the committee a clip from the television show 60 Minutes that focused on the problem in other states in which local governments sought to condemn homes and business into order to locate other homes or businesses that would pay higher taxes.

AB143 requires redevelopment agencies to conduct negotiations in "good faith" and give an owner at least 30 days to decide whether to accept a written offer before any condemnation is started.

An owner may reject the compensation, but then the condemnation suit is started. The bill provides that if the property owner fails to get more money than offered by the redevelopment agency after a trial, he or she would not be required to pay the court costs and attorney fees of the agency.

Horne said Nevada was the "only jurisdiction in the country to require the property owners to pay fees if they don't win in court."

Under current law, there are 10 characteristics that describe an area as "blighted" and can be subject to condemnation by a redevelopment agency. It has to find that only one of the 10 items in the law allows the area to be designated as blighted.