When [tag]Mayor Michael Brown[/tag] envisions the future of this hardscrabble city, he sees no poverty, no drug dealing and no prostitution. Brown sees hope and high-paying jobs. But progress doesn’t come without sacrifice. The city’s multibillion-dollar effort to remake itself could send to up to 6,000 residents packing in potentially one of the nation’s largest eminent domain seizures, leaving many wondering who defines progress. The project has placed [tag]Riviera Beach[/tag] at the center of a nationwide battle over whether government should be allowed to force people from their properties for construction of private development.

Traditionally, governments have used [tag]eminent domain[/tag] to build public facilities like schools, parks, prisons, airports and roads. But the Supreme Court ruled last year in a Connecticut case that local governments can use eminent domain to seize property for private developers if it will be used to raise the city’s tax base and benefit the entire community. The ruling left open the option for states to devise their own regulations. An amendment and a bill are working their way through the [tag]Florida Legislature[/tag] to severely limit condemnations of personal property for any private use.

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