Imminent change

Courts | Congress may stop local land grabs, but not soon enough | Mark Bergin

Bernard Buller just wants to be left alone. For nearly a decade, city officials in Monrovia, Calif., have hassled, pressured, and insulted the 67-year-old commercial property owner in an effort to buy a piece of land not for sale. Such strong-arm tactics might border on criminal were they administered via private means. But the Supreme Court's eminent-domain decision last June places the city's latest land grab on firm legal ground—and will likely soon place Mr. Buller's property in city officials' hands.

Three months after the Supreme Court's much-maligned ruling in Kelo v. City of New London, similar battles are springing up across the nation. The 5-4 decision allows cities to appropriate private lands and transfer them to private developers if government officials believe some public benefit may result.