State v. Evans

(dissenting) — The Washington Constitution’s prohibition against taking private property for private use is absolute: “Private property shall not be taken for private use . . . Const. art. I, § 16 (amend. 9). Where the condemned property is to be devoted to both a private and a public use, the constitutional prohibition has no less force:

If a private use is combined with a public use in such a way that the two cannot be separated, the right of eminent domain cannot be invoked.. . . [W]here the purpose of a proposed acquisition is to acquire property and devote only a portion of it to truly…