Farmland conversion and landfill sites

[danbrotherston]

If true...that is a very unpleasant thing to learn...

But again, to be clear, it is not expropriation, or even necessarily the use that is bad.

Expropriation of land (any land) by a government and transfer of that land to a private, for profit, corporation is the problem. Eminent domain should not be used for the benefit of corporations, it should be used directly for the benefit of the commons only.

If the government feels that industrial use is so important to the common benefit of our society, they should own the land and lease it.

That's is where we are free to disagree. In my opinion a manufacturer that will provided thousands of jobs to the region and probably 1000's of spin off manufacturing jobs will provide a common benefit to our society, so I have no problem with expropriation in this case. 

A land assembly of this size would be impossible without expropriation.

Why would a land assembly of this size be impossible without expropriation? Housing developers assemble six properties inside and outside of the city all the time. There's no reason to suggest that such an assembly is impossible.

I am not saying that jobs are not a benefit to society, but you misunderstand what I mean when I say "commons". The jobs, the property, will all be owned and controlled by private interests. Whether the jobs benefit the city doesn't change whether the property is private or not.

Like I said, if the city (and by implication you, and all who support this) feel that industrial lands of that scale are valuable enough to justify expropriation, then the city should expropriate those lands and retain ownership of the property by the public, and then lease them to whatever corporation they feel will best utilize the land. That way, the public retains control over the common property.