Delegation of Power to Condemn is Limited
Although a governmental authority with power to condemn may not directly assign its power to condemn to a private developer, the power to condemn may be indirectly passed to the developer. In a recent case in Hawaii, the trial court struck down a county's agreement to allow a developer to exercise almost complete control over eminent domain proceedings. In striking down the county's attempts to take private property, the court found that if a government attempts to delegate its power of eminent domain to a private party under an agreement allowing the private party to control what property is taken, pays all the expenses, and is given the right to demand institution of eminent domain proceedings against property owners, then the delegation of the governmental power is illegal and void.
For more, read Inversecondemnation.com - "Court Strikes Delegation..."
The court saw through what was a thinly veiled outright delegation of the county's power to condemn to the developer. While property is often condemned in connection with private projects, the power to condemn property for public use and necessity is a power granted to governmental entities and courts require that the governmental entities retain some real and substantive control over the process.
