John E. Mogk, Wayne State University law professor, commented about the voter approval of ballot measures in eight states limiting eminent domain powers to public uses. In all, 34 states have adopted laws or passed ballot measures in response to the Connecticut case, Kelo v. New London, which upheld the right of local officials to require the forced sale of homes and businesses for private development intended to increase the tax base of one of the state's poorest cities. In many communities, eminent domain powers are used only sparingly. That is not the case in Detroit, where officials have worked to bring industrial parks and middle-income housing developments to tracts of land that are largely, but not entirely, vacant. "Any project requiring an assembly of land of 50 acres or more since 1960 has required eminent domain at some point in order to complete the project," said Mogk. In 2004, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that eminent domain could no longer be used for private projects to create jobs and generate tax revenue. That decision is now a part of the constitutional amendment approved last week by Michigan voters. If condemnation is used to eliminate blight, each individual property must now be shown to be blighted "by clear and convincing evidence," Mogk said. "This requirement is likely to discourage badly needed development."