ABSTRACT
Government’s growing role as a participant in public-private economic development
partnerships has prompted the judiciary to revisit the nature of the public use
requirement under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment1 as evidenced by the
United States Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London.2 Private
property owners have been and are continuing to oppose joint urban development
projects between government and private developers, commonly referred to as
economic development takings.3 These projects require the use of eminent domain
and the transfer of private property to private developers in the pursuit of plans that
serve public uses.4 As the frequency and magnitude of these joint ventures increase,
so too does the blurring of the public use versus private use distinction.
