ARLINGTON

--More than seven years after the U.S. Supreme Court's much-reviled eminent-domain decision in Kelo v. City of New London--allowing governments across the country to forcibly take property from landowners on the mere promise of increased tax revenue or jobs, under the guise of "public use"--the commonwealth is poised to ensure that all Virginians can finally keep what they have worked so hard to own.

As in most other states, the Virginia Bill of Rights explicitly prevents the government from taking property by eminent domain unless there is a public use and the payment of just compensation. But an odd constitutional quirk allows the General Assembly to redefine the meaning of public use--subjecting every property owner's rights to the whim of each successive legislature. To its credit, the General Assembly did considerably improve the state's eminent-domain statutes in 2007, but complete reform necessitates fully protecting through the state Constitution the right to keep one's home, farm, or small business from the clutches of covetous condemning authorities--and from the vagaries of politics.

Question 1, which will appear on the Nov. 6 general election ballot, does just that. Not only does the constitutional amendment declare that the right to property is fundamental, but it also removes the General Assembly's ability to capriciously redefine public use. Question 1 specifically disclaims that increased tax revenue or jobs, economic development, or private gain are public uses. In addition, where an actual public use does exist--such as a road, school, or courthouse--Question 1 requires property owners be provided full compensation, including whatever profits might be lost when a business closes because its land has been acquired by the government. When the public benefits, no longer will losses be borne solely by the landowner.

Take, for example, Bob Wilson, owner of Central Radio in Norfolk. Bob's company has been in Norfolk for 78 years, building and repairing ship-based radio equipment since Bob's uncle founded the company in 1934. Home to more than 100 employees, Central Radio is being threatened with eminent domain by the Norfolk Redevelopment & Housing Authority as part of a private mixed-use development across from Old Dominion University.

NEVER SAY DIE