Eminent Domain Report

The California Supreme Court announced today that the Property Reserve case will be heard on May 3, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. in San Francisco.  (I'm assuming this is not an April Fool's joke, since eminent domain attorneys have been awaiting this for a long time now.)

The Court will decide whether California's precondemnation right of entry statutes are constitutional.  As has been discussed at length for more than a year in our industry, the decision could effect sweeping changes in how condemning agencies access properties for necessary inspections and testing.  We posted a detailed ...

At its March meeting, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) approved funding to improve and maintain California’s multimodal transportation system.  According to the District 2 Press Release, allocations included:

• $12.5 million for 11 capital improvement projects both on and off the state highway system as part of the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP),

• $17.8 million for two Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program projects, and

• $15.5 million for 22 Active Transportation Program projects - the most recent active transportation investment from ...

Eminent domain practitioners are well versed in analyzing a property's highest and best use.  Under these principles, a property being condemned is not necessarily valued based on its current, existing use.  Where the appraiser can show that the property's actual value is based on a different use, that use can often be the foundation for the valuation (assuming that other use meets the four-part test of highest and best use, which is beyond the scope of this post; if you're really bored today, here's a link to Wikipedia's discussion of highest and best use).

In County of Santa Barbara v ...

In the last month, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear appeals on two eminent domain-related cases.  The first case, California Building Industry Association v. City of San Jose, is one we discussed last year.  If you recall,  the California Supreme Court held that San Jose's inclusionary housing ordinance that required all new residential development projects of 20 or more units to sell at least 15 percent of the for-sale units at a price that is affordable to low or moderate income households did not impose an exaction on developers that constituted a taking.

The U.S ...

We have seen a trend where local agencies are choosing to replace stop-sign and signal controlled intersections with roundabouts.  The concept is not new; we see them throughout Europe and on the East Coast.  But until recently, there weren't many out West.  But that is changing and the City of Yucaipa is one of many embracing the new model.  According to this post in the Yucaipa/Calimesa News Mirror, last month the Yucaipa City Council adopted plans for roundabouts at 6 intersections:

• Yucaipa Boulevard & Bryant Street

• Avenue E & Bryant Street

• Avenue E & 2nd Street

• Avenue E & 3rd Street

• Avenue E ...

The wait is nearly over:  for those living on the Westside of Los Angeles, passenger rail transit will be available in just a few short months.  Officials announced this week that the final extension of the Expo Line will open on May 20, extending service from Culver City to just a few blocks from the Santa Monica pier.

This will be the first passenger rail transit service to the far Westside since Pacific Electric streetcars stopped running to Santa Monica in 1953.  The project completes the 15-mile Expo Line between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica.  Train trips between downtown Santa ...

When public agencies acquire property for public projects, many times only a portion of the property is required.  And, the government usually seeks various types property interests:  (i) permanent easements for street purposes, drainage, utilities, slope, aerial, or access rights, (ii) temporary construction easements, or (iii) fee interests, to name a few.  One common misconception among agencies is that acquiring an easement is completely different than acquiring the property in fee.  In some cases, it can be vastly different, but in others, depending on the scope of the ...

Transparency in government is a staple of American democracy.  The Federal Freedom of Information Act and California’s Public Records Act are two examples of laws that are intended to provide transparency for government’s written information.  But many (if not all) state and local governments have also enacted sunshine laws, which generally require that government meetings be open and public.  In California, the Ralph M. Brown Act was passed in 1953.  Yet, despite having been around for over half a century, many local governments find themselves accused of running afoul of its ...

Once again, I sit at my desk wondering how all of this happened.  For more than a decade, I worked as an eminent domain attorney in utter obscurity; I'm not even sure my family knew what eminent domain was.  But then the City of New London, Connecticut tried to take Ms. Kelo's little pink house, and everything changed.  Since the Supreme Court's 2005 Kelo decision, eminent domain has become a mainstream topic, coming up in late night talk show skits, and now, taking center stage in the Republican presidential race.

At last Saturday's debate, the use of eminent domain turned into a firestorm of ...

Public transit continues to be a major focus throughout Southern California, with virtually all of the county transportation agencies planning or undertaking important passenger rail projects throughout the region.  Some of those transit projects in Los Angeles and Orange County received a major boost this week, as the Los Angeles Times is reporting that the Obama administration has earmarked $500 million in the proposed federal budget for the next fiscal year for LA Metro's Westside Subway (Purple Line) and Regional Connector projects and OCTA's OC Streetcar project.

LA ...