The city council of Richmond, California on Wednesday approved a bold plan to use the authority of the municipal government’s ’eminent domain’ laws to help underwater homeowners.

Bucking the threat of lawsuits from large banks and other financial interests, approval of the measure is a victory for the city’s progressive-minded Green Party Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, not to mention the city residents struggling with homes that lost a majority of their value in the wake of the financial collapse of 2008.

According to Reuters:

Though the city council’s approval will come as a positive step by housing and economic justice advocates in California and elsewhere, the legal challenges will likely be intense. As Reuters continues:

However, the fight is one that many upset about the way the housing crisis has been addressed by both state and federal authorities seem willing to have. As Common Dreams previously reported:

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