My domain is more eminent, take 2

Update (11/29): The Seattle P-I prints my letter and with only minor edits!

To the editors:

In your editorial opposing the use of eminent domain to keep Southeast Seattle affordable, you suggest there's a need for community involvement, but don't suggest how else to make this happen. A blue ribbon panel, perhaps? Or maybe a toothless neighborhood plan?

The basic principle of eminent domain is that the common good can take precedence over private interests. This is hard to object to – unless, I guess, you own blighted property and want to hold on to it. But even then, you'd receive fair compensation. So who loses?

Sure, area property owners may want to take another spin on the real estate roulette wheel, hoping to hit another jackpot. But they're already benefiting greatly from public funds and attention to the area—from light rail to rezoning, and beyond. The rest of us deserve something in return: to help make sure there's room for everyone in Southeast Seattle.

A community renewal agency with eminent domain powers is one of the few tools available with the teeth to give the public a real voice in the process, as equals with private developers and property owners. And I suspect that this is at the heart of the objections to the plan.