Designating an area as “blighted” usually is the first step before using eminent domain. Once the area has been designated, most states say that anything within that area can be condemned for the supposed public purpose of eliminating blight. It is therefore extremely dangerous. The members of the agency may tell you that there are no plans to use eminent domain “at this time.” That’s no protection. In some states, blight designations last for a certain number of years, and in many they last forever. Usually, there is a report done by a consultant that explains the supposed reasons supporting the blight designation. That report is then given to the agency that will vote on whether to designate the area as blighted. It is possible that in some states or localities, there will not be such a report, but there should be one in the majority of situations. Get a copy of the report and go through it carefully. Identify everything you think is wrong and try to bring information that supports your position to the hearing. If the properties look nice, bring pictures. If you are a business, do a count of the number of people who visit your establishment in a day or week or check your annual sales taxes. As with all opposition to eminent domain, it is better to have a group of people all explaining why the area is not blighted than to have only one. Also, this is a good time to let the local government know that whatever they have planned will not simply slip by. Bring a crowd, call the newspapers.