Also “the time for talking is over” should not be met with derision. From what I read (I did not read the stuff behind the paywall), there could be a good reason for what the official said. Perhaps the governments and landowners had been negotiating for an entire year and nothing came of it, so the government decided to use its eminent domain power. In that case, perhaps, “the time for talking” may well be over and the request that another party enter the talks might be seen as simply a delaying tactic. On the other hand, the town could have proposed the eminent domain a week before. Who knows?

Also, if the State rep does not want this to happen… Perhaps he can do something, like get the legislature to pass a bill stopping it and persuading the governor to sign it into law.

Finally, governments coerce. That is what governments do best..

Several years ago a railroad gave up their right of way for a line. Under the agreement when the right of way was created the property was supposed to revert back to the land owners. A “Rails to Trails” group got a Judge to give them the right of way. Now some land owners have property on both sides of the right of way. They have people leaving the trail and wondering through their property. When the Trails group was given the right of way there wasn’t even a discussion of paying the land owners.

The issue is the “fairly” part.