City of Midwest City v. House of Realty, Inc.

¶ 1 The central issue in this controversy is whether a municipality’s authority to condemn property for economic redevelopment and blight removal is limited to special statutes expressly giving such authority, or in the alternative whether a municipality may condemn property for blight removal and economic development pursuant to a general power of eminent domain. In this controversy a municipality and a public trust have jointly created, funded, and operated an economic redevelopment project that included the removal of blighted property. We hold that a municipality may not use a general…