When Richfield wanted to clear land for a new Best Buy headquarters over the objections of some property owners, the city got its way by using eminent domain to gain control of the land.
That power, reviled by some as government overreach, was curbed by a 2006 change in state law. Today, cities condemn property not for big, eye-catching developments but for mundane public uses like street expansions, trails and sewer projects. Bloomington once used eminent domain to gain control of a single parking stall.
"It used to be that … you could use eminent domain to assemble some or all of that [redevelopment] site, and resell it for private use," said Larry Lee, Bloomington's community development director. "We can't do that now.
"What cities still have eminent domain for is to use it for a public purpose: a city hall, a fire station, a park, a trail."
Minnesota law changed after a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling sided with a Connecticut city that condemned private property for redevelopment, displacing homeowners who in some cases had lived in their homes for decades. A public outcry followed, and many states rewrote eminent-domain laws.
Minnesota law now limits government condemnations to public-use projects.
"It's pretty much roads, trails, sewer easements, things directly related to public infrastructure," said Sandra Johnson, Bloomington's city attorney.
The timing of the law change makes it hard to gauge its impact, said John Stark, Richfield's director of community development. He said it changed just as real estate tanked.