I saw this on the news a few days ago.
Quote:
Mesa's challenges
Mesa's downtown redevelopment area covers a square mile and includes an additional 300 acres bordering downtown. Several projects slated for that area for which private land was seized have either stalled or fallen apart.
The city has captured national attention for its attempt to seize and raze two shops near downtown for a city-engineered redevelopment project.
Randy Bailey, owner of Bailey Brake Service, 18 N. Country Club Drive, and Patrick Dennis, owner of the Maaco Auto Painting and Bodyworks shop, 434 W. Main St., are fighting Mesa’s plan to take their property on the northwest corner of Main Street and Country Club Drive and turn the land over to three other local businessmen who want to build a hardware store and an electronics store.
Lawyers for Bailey and Dennis argue that the city is violating their property rights guaranteed by the Arizona Constitution. The project is on hold while the courts untangle the legal issues. Maricopa County Superior Court Justice Bethany Hicks ruled this week that Mesa must wait at least six months to seize the Maaco property while the Arizona Court of Appeals rules on the Bailey property.
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this is fucking ridiculous. Take one man's private property and give it to another? What a great cuntry.