Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 8-186 (2026)

Declaration of policy

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section CT-CGAcga.ct.gov (official) JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

It is found and declared that the economic welfare of the state depends upon the continued growth of industry and business within the state; that the acquisition and improvement of unified land and water areas and vacated commercial plants to meet the needs of industry and business should be in accordance with local, regional and state planning objectives; that such acquisition and improvement often cannot be accomplished through the ordinary operations of private enterprise at competitive rates of progress and economies of cost; that permitting and assisting municipalities to acquire and improve unified land and water areas and to acquire and improve or demolish vacated commercial plants for industrial and business purposes and, in distressed municipalities, to lend funds to businesses and industries within a project area in accordance with such planning objectives are public uses and purposes for which public moneys may be expended; and that the necessity in the public interest for the provisions of this chapter is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination.

(1967, P.A. 760, S. 1; 1972, P.A. 87, S. 1; P.A. 74-184, S. 1, 10; P.A. 75-480, S. 1, 8; P.A. 84-243, S. 1.)

History: 1972 act included vacated commercial plants in provisions of section; P.A. 74-184 allowed demolition of vacated commercial plants as well as acquisition or improvement; P.A. 75-480 included water areas in provisions of section; P.A. 84-243 included reference to use of funds for loans in distressed municipalities.

Cited. 184 C. 51; 206 C. 579. A unified land and water area is one that exists because of the combination of separate land parcels into a unitary development scheme and is not limited to vacant land and includes developed or occupied land. 268 C. 1.

Cited. 35 CS 157.

(Return to Chapter
Table of Contents)

(Return to
List of Chapters)

(Return to
List of Titles)

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 8 cases, 1977–2009 · leading case: Kelo v. City of New London, 843 A.2d 500 (Conn. 2004).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Kelo v. City of New London, 843 A.2d 500 (Conn. 2004). · cites it 34× “10 The plaintiffs contend that chapter 132; General Statutes § 8-186 et seq.; applies only to “unified land and water areas” and “vacated commercial plants,” and that their homes fit neither of those categories, because under the language and legislative history of chapter 132,…”

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. v. Town of Orange, 775 A.2d 284 (Conn. 2001). · cites it 6× “First, chapter 132 of the General Statutes; General Statutes §§ 8-186 through 8-200b; entitled “Municipal Development Projects,” pursuant to which the project plan was adopted, provides the statutory framework for the municipal acquisition and improvement of real property for…”

Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005). · cites it 2× “[4] After the Superior Court ruled, both sides took appeals to the Supreme Court of Connecticut. That court held, over a dissent, that all of the City's proposed takings were valid.”

Sadlowski v. Town of Manchester, 538 A.2d 1052 (Conn. 1988). · cites it 3× “The plaintiffs have withdrawn the second count, which alleged that the use of the moneys proposed to be raised by the bonds would not be an expenditure for a “public use and purpose” within the meaning of General Statutes § 8-186. On their side, the defendants have not pursued…”

City of New Haven v. Town of East Haven, 402 A.2d 345 (Conn. Super. Ct. 1977). · cites it 3× “be accomplished through the ordinary operations of private enterprise at competitive rates of progress and economies of cost; that permitting and assisting municipalities to acquire and improve unified land and water areas and to acquire and improve or demolish vacated…”

Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners v. Lowery, 136 P.3d 639 (Okla. 2006). “See Conn. Gen.Stat. § 8-186 et seq. In reaching its determination, the Court in Kelo applied its “broader and more natural interpretation of public use as public purpose” pursuant to the Fifth Amendment and noted its cases have defined “public purpose” broadly as a reflection of…”

Cnty. Com'rs of Muskogee Co. v. Lowery, 2006 OK 31 (Okla. 2006). “See Conn. Gen.Stat. § 8-186 et seq. In reaching its determination, the Court in Kelo applied its "broader and more natural interpretation of public use as public purpose" pursuant to the Fifth Amendment and noted its cases have defined "public purpose" broadly as a reflection of…”

EUREKA v. LLC v. Town of Ridgefield, 596 F. Supp. 2d 258 (D. Conn. 2009). · cites it 2× “BFDA is an authority of the Town that was created on January 9, 2002, pursuant to the Town’s Charter and Conn. Gen.Stat. §§ 8-186 et seq. The Board of Finance is a board of the Town that is charged with the appropriation of funds.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.