10 Years After This City Seized a Woman’s Land: An Empty Lot

It’s been a decade since the city of New London, Conn. forcibly took the Fort Trumbull neighborhood for what became private-development, and now all that remains is an empty lot.

In 1998, the area surrounding the waterfront neighborhood saw an increased surge of economic development. This prompted city officials to decide the Fort Trumbull could be better used for other purposes.

According to the Institute for Justice, the plan was to take the land from the residents and give it to the New London Development Corporation (NLDC), a private body. Eminent domain allows the government to take land for the purposes of the public good so long as property owners are offered just compensation.

Residents, however, did not like the idea. In an effort to protect their homes, Susette Kelo and her neighbors took their city to court. After years of fighting, Kelo v. City of New London went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. To the dismay of the residents, however, the court ruled in 2005 in favor of New London.

“When I first started this battle, it was about me and this little pink house,” Kelo told The Daily Signal. “But it grew into something much bigger than that. It turned into a nationwide battle to save the Fort Trumbull neighborhood.” (Read more from “10 Years After This City Seized a Woman’s Land: An Empty Lot” HERE)

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