March 14, 2007: Excavation around house

[DanaC]

Here in the US, we have zoning laws to ensure that landowners can't just do whatever they want with their property, and eminent domain laws to ensure that the government can take it from them if someone more powerful wants the land for something else.

We have property development regulations controlling what anyone can do with their land/buildings. In order to substantially alter the appearance or function of a building or piece of land one must first acquire planning permission from the council, that permission must be granted or refused with regard to the Council's agreed Unitary Develpoment Plan. But.....we also have something called Compulsory Purchase Orders, which Council's can issue against land/building/house owners, whereby they have to sell to the Council in order for largescale public works or major town alterations to take place.