What is a condemning authority?
A condemning authority (also called a “condemnor”) is an entity or agency that is granted the power of eminent domain. Because we are a constitutional system, and because the United States Constitution forbids the taking of private property without first paying just compensation, all authority first flows from the Constitution. Then, through amendments to the U.S. Constitution, power to condemn is vested in the individual states. Here in Arizona, all cities, counties, or state agencies, like the Arizona Department of Transportation, get their authority to take private property from the State Legislature. There are specific statutes that govern takings by cities or governmental agencies. A second example of a condemning authority is an entity that is not part of the State of Arizona, namely the Salt River Project, which has received a charter directly from the United States Congress. So, for SRP, their authority to take property also flows from the constitution, but comes by way of the
