West Haven is in Connecticut, home of Kelo v. New London, the much-reviled 2005 U.S. Supreme Court case that allowed government officials to condemn property based on nothing more than a promise to generate more tax revenue. That decision sparked outrage and a nationwide backlash—44 states have passed laws reforming their eminent domain laws to make Kelo-style takings harder and nine state supreme courts have rejected the Kelo decision.The Kelo case is also notable for what it did not spark: development. Twelve years later, the neighborhood destroyed by New London is a vacant lot populated only by grass, weeds and feral cats.The lesson of Kelo is clear: Eminent domain abuse hurts property owners, destroys communities and fails to generate the kind of development its proponents promise.But West Haven officials have taken the opposite lesson from the case. They apparently believe the case means they can take anyone’s property, anytime they want, for any reason. That is not true. The West Haven condemnations are worse than Kelo. Government officials in Kelo wanted to take private property in the hope of realizing their (wrong-headed and fantastical) plans for redevelopment.