Stratford Residents Will Have Opportunity to Speak on Proposed Eminent Domain Changes

Stratford residents will have the opportunity to voice their opinions on a proposed Town Code revision that would increase the town’s power to acquire private property through eminent domain in a public hearing on Jan. 26, according to the Stratford Star.

The Star reports that the Town Council was deadlocked at 5-5 Monday night on whether or not to have the public hearing and Mayor John Harkins, as the tiebreaker, voted in favor of moving the proposal to the Ordinance Committee for a public hearing.

Town Attorney Tim Bishop told WTNH prior to the meeting that Stratford had a knee-jerk reaction to a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court case in which an owner of a little pink house took on New London. In the case, the court ruled that it was legal for a municipality to take private property for economic development purposes, according to WTNH.

The Stratford Town Council then passed a statute which Bishop said “basically told the public that here in Stratford we’ll never do that,” according to WTNH.

Read more about Monday night’s meeting and the proposed change at the Stratford Star here.

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