Talk of Eminent Domain in West Oakland
According to a Bay Area Biz Talk blog post for the San Francisco Business Times, "Talk of Eminent Domain Stirs Fears in West Oakland," the City of Oakland is contemplating reinstituting its redevelopment agency's power of eminent domain in order to acquire a site for a new Foods Co. (Kroger) grocery store.
The five-acre site in question is located at the corner of West Grand Avenue and Filbert Street, and is currently home to an industrial warehouse and an autobody shop. While the proposed grocery store has done much of the negotiating and acquisition itself, it has been unsuccessful in reaching an agreement with a property owner that controls .9 acres of the site. The store has therefore turned to the redevelopment agency for help.
The city council's economic development committee has approved the policy amendment to allow the redevelopment agency to reinstitute its eminent domain powers, and the matter will therefore go to a vote before the city council.
The article also notes that over the last several decades, city officials have turned to eminent domain in West Oakland to acquire land for a BART station, for Interstate 980, and for a U.S Post Office branch.
