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Trumbull, and by the cynical effort to portray them as victims of a sell-out to private business interests. Susette Kelo and the other Fort Trumbull landowners wan[ nothing more than to save their homes. They have done nothing wrong. By all accounts, they are good neighbors and good dtizens.The emotional attach- ment they have for their homes cannot be translated into just compensation:' Far less media attention has been paid to the human misery on the other side of [he equation.The New London city officials who planned the Fort Trumbull redevelopment project faced a desperate economic aisisThis small, former whaling center ofjust 2,000 people has suffered decades of eco- uomic decline, unth the unemployment sate approaching H percent. Many of its children are on public assistance. With job opportunities already scarce, New London sustained another hard hit in 1990 with the closure of the federal Nava] Undersea Warfare Center, which threw an additional 1,d00 people out of work. Inspired by successful waterfront redevelopment projects, such as Balti- more's world-renowned Inner Harbor, New London officials decided to trans- form the decaying Fort Trumbull peninsula into a vibrant mix of retail, residential, and commercial space; a public "Riverwalk;" public marinas; and a hotel and conference center.The 1998 derision by Pfizer, Inc. to build a global research facility on a site adjacent to the Fort Trumbull peninsula served as a natural catalyst, offering thousands of ready customers for the Fort Trumbull shops, restaurants, and hotel.The rede- velopment will integrate an existing state park, put the abandoned federal research site to ttse, and perhaps include a new U.S. Coast Guard museum. It also will result in the cleanup of environ- mental contamination, reduce flood risks by filling the 100-year floodplain, and bring extensive infrastructure improvement. New London officials want nothing more Chan to put a paycheck back into the hands of the unemployed and improve the plight of the impoverished. The Fort Trumbull project prorrtises to create thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars of tax revenues that could be used for better health care at public hospitals, affordable housing, enhanced services for the elderly, better police protection, child protection services, and countless other services for [hose most in need. The trial courtjudge aptly observed that New London officials have a dream for their beloved but decaying com- munity, the accomplishment of which "presents no opportunity of personal gain or favor." Every justice of the Supreme Court of Connecticut con- cluded that the redevelopment plan was not intended to promote the interests of any private entity, but to revitalize the econonry with new jobs and spin- off economic opportunities.The wide- spread effort to characterize the project as a sop by local officials to Pfizer or other private interests is a vicious smear. The natimtal debate Regardless of how one views the com- peting equities in New London, every- one should agree that the facts in an individual case should not drive national policy. Nor is the debate enhanced by spurious statistics on alleged eminent domain "abuse"-a term defined by partisans to include any proposed use of enunent domain for economic devel- opment, no matter how reasonable. We must be careful no[ [o throw the baby out with the bathwater. Eminent domain used [o promote economic development is a critical tool for state and local ofTicials that has brought new hope to many dying conmmnities across the country. Redevelopment projects often depend on eminent domain to assem- ble acritical mass of property because market failures make it impossible for the private sector to do the job alone. Holdouts axe the most obvious market failure, but many other obstacles can prcdudc redevelopment.The legal risks associated with cleaning up lightly con- taminated "brownfield" sites often deter private development, but governnten[ officials can use eminent domain to acquire the site, address the contamina- tion, and then sell or lease the land for new development. Clouded property title on key parcels also can require the use of eminent domain to dear tide. Ennnen[ domain also can break logants caused by existng businesses that leave nearby land vacant to prevent potenfial competitors from entering the market. C)CTObLIi 2~OJ I~IN NG50'I'A (; I'rll'S Beymtd the Coostftution: Best practices for eminent domain ~ Despite the heated rhetoric surround- ing the use of eminent domain for economic development, substantial common ground exists regaeding the need for fair treatment o£condeumees. Many contmunifies already use a-eative approaches to promote fairness. Sonte provide for compensation well above market value to address special hardship cases or account for subjec- tive losses when homes are condemned. Ocher ideas include paying homeowners an extra 1 percent of market value for every year they have lived in their home. Some commentators have recommeuded localities be required co show that eminent domain for economic devel- opment has a primarily public purpose, and not just an incidental public benefit. Following [he lead of the Kelo coact, [hey also suggest limiting the use of eminent domain for economic develop- ment to situations in which the project is integrated into a comprehensive land- use plan, and requiring a full opportu- nity for public input with state-funded technical assistance to facilitate public participation at the r-esidents'r-equest. Proposals like these should be at the center of the post-Kelo debate, not blanket prohibitions that will consign many neighborhoods and communities to the despair of economic decay. Abso- lutist ideologies offer li[de hope for appropriate solutions. We should all take a deep breath and sit down as fellow citizens to identify common ground, ouce the shouting stops. t- Tim Dowling is chief caurrse{ of Comnw- nity Rights Counsel (CRC), a public interest law firm that assists state and Iota! a~}kials in defending against constitutional challenges to land use controls, environmen- tal sa_feguarAs, and other cornrnunity protec- tions.This article is an edited version ofn longer essay that will appear in "Eminent Domain: Kelo in Canter[," which will be pubh'sher( later Phis year }yy the American BnrAssociatian's Stn[e nud L.ocnl Govern- ment Law Sec[ian. This version is reprinteA with permission. II J