WHERE DOES POLICE POWER END AND EMINENT DOMAIN BEGIN?

This paper, which examines and categorizes the police power versus eminent domain issues that frequently arise in highway law, places primary emphasis on cases that relate specifically to highways. A study of cases where the exercise of police power was at issue reveals that there is no overall yardstick to measure where a police regulation ends and a compensable taking begins. The report discusses cases which focus on that gray area of the police power law where the cases have set precedent for noncompensation when the police power is exercised by highway government agencies. The cases relate to the regulation of traffic and access control, regulation of roadside property and the highway environment (including outdoor advertising, junkyards, and highway corridors), and relocating utility facilities in highways. The opinion is expressed that in the interests of general welfare and distributive justice, no hard and fast lines should be drawn. A recommended approach is that of the enactment of legislation which combines the use of the police power and the power of eminent domain in appropriate situations rather than making a choice of one or the other.

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• Supplemental Notes:
  • A supplement to this paper by J.C. Vance was published in Addendum 2, December 1980, pp 24-S1 through 24-S9.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Carlson, R F
• Publication Date: 1976

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 1-23
• Serial:
  • Selected Studies in Highway Law
  • Volume: 1
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Advertising; Case studies; Eminent domain; Highway corridors; Highways; Junkyards; Laws; Location; Police powers; Public utilities; Traffic regulations
• Uncontrolled Terms: Highway location; Utilities
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00148902
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Aug 28 1998 12:00AM