Eminent Domain was implemented in the US to seize individually owned property for public use.... for the betterment of a community. 

In Portland, with all of the Interstates, it had to be done for the good of the masses (in other words, the city would not be what it is today without creating said infrastructures).  With Interstate 5, it became a water front eye sore and divided North Portland into two parts with many turn of the century houses being destroyed in the process.  With Interstate 205, they chose the path of least resistance between a few hills and low-income neighborhoods.  Interstate 205 was the reason for the creation of City of Maywood Park, a neighborhood that banned together to dictate where the freeway turned in order to save their neighborhood.  (By going from a neighborhood to an established incorporated city, they were able to be a voice against eminent domain...to a point... an interesting story for another time).  Eminent domain will likely be repeated soon as traffic increases and talks of another Portland/Vancouver bridge proceed. 

I wonder how long the houses butted up to the freeways are going to last once the city wants (er, needs) to widen the interstate or whether Portland Community College will succeed in acquiring several houses for buildings and parking lots to expand their campus (this has been proposed in more than one of their campus locations and so I find it ironic that their motto is ‘We're all about your future').   This, to me is border line abuse to allow a community college to be the reason for eminent domain.  Public school, perhaps, tuition fueled college?  No.

Some North Portland residents are still reeling over the eminent domain that encroached on their neighborhood and took their houses when hundreds of houses were cleared to make way for Legacy Emanuel Hospital and somewhere along the building process, the hospital ran out of funds and blocks were left vacant to this day. 

The City of Portland is now threatening a different kind of eminent domain on a city icon... The ‘Made in Oregon' sign (previously the ‘White Stag' and originally the ‘White Satin' sign).  It sits atop the White Stag Building and is a prominent city landmark.  Now the University of Oregon has proposed to purchase building (sign and all) and like the building's previous owners, wishes to change the sign to read their logo.  Apparently the powers that be at the city have decided that after three name changes, they rather like the current ‘Made in Oregon'logo and wish to keep it that way.  Many Portlanders (myself included) agree.  But that's no reason to throw an eminent domain tantrum and take over the sign while leaving the building up for grabs.  The city sees something shiny, says ‘I want!' and through eminent domain has the legal ability to take it for their own... even if it lives on the top of a private party's building.  I find this scary as a citizen.  The city has determined that the sign is worth $500,000 and that would be the retribution pay for nabbing it from the present and future building owners (I suppose the electric bill would also go to the city.  I hear it costs quite a bit to keep alight).

If this one small act is successful for the City of Portland, it opens new doors... Take the stories of neighborhood tear-downs to build a shopping malls (there are multiple examples of such a case... Google it).  Such deeds gives a city a bad name... it reeks of a city that desperately sells out to commerce.

Our unofficial motto is ‘Keep Portland Weird'... Unless we make it so weird that laws such as eminent domain just don't make sense anymore.

4/9/2009 Update: http://www.katu.com/news/local/42685962.html

An agreement has been reached which allows the University to keep rights to the sign and a new design which is not such an glaring advertisement to be created.  I guess that's what UofO had to do to keep the sign from being snatched away in an eminent domain case.  On a very related topic, the city is allowing the university to doll up a nearby water tower that they own with their logo as part of the agreement.