Posts from January 2014
Posted in Projects

The California Transportation Commission allocated $138 million to 32 projects around the state at its January 29th, 2014, meeting.  As Caltrans director Malcolm Dougherty put it:

From one end of the state to the other transportation projects are providing good paying jobs while at the same time reducing traffic congestion for the people and businesses in California.

Many of the projects receiving funds are directly aimed at easing commutes.  Some highlights include:

  • $8.5 million to Metrolink for its High Speed Readiness Program
  • $11.9 million for the Raymond Avenue grade ...

I saw a couple of California redevelopment-related stories over the past week that seemed worthy of at least a brief comment.

First, a court decision involving a rather bold argument by a public agency.

The City of Loma Linda, like so many California cities, used to have a redevelopment agency.  That redevelopment agency acquired property and embarked on various efforts to, well, redevelop things.  When Governor Brown eliminated California's redevelopment agencies, many projects were left in mid-stream.

In the case of Loma Linda, the redevelopment agency purchased some ...

Posted in Court Decisions

Earlier this month, the California Court of Appeal answered a question that had been outstanding for almost two decades: What standard of review applies to beneficial spot zoning? In Foothill Communities Coalition v. County of Orange, that question was finally answered when the Court held that beneficial spot zoning will be valid only when the record demonstrates that the zoning is "in the public interest."

In 1996, Associate California Supreme Court Justice Stanley Mosk stated in a concurring decision that although courts are traditionally deferential with respect to zoning ...

Posted in Court Decisions

Landowners routinely have to give up something in return for a government agency’s granting a discretionary permit. However, there are limits, as the government agency cannot typically demand conditions that are not proportional or related to the impacts that would be created by the proposed project. These limits are referred to as the nexus and rough proportionality standards set forth in the well-known United States Supreme Court cases of Nollan v. California Coastal Commission (1987) 483 U.S. 825 and Dolan v. City of Tigard (1994) 512 U.S. 374.

In Powell v. County of ...

Posted in Projects

On July 6, 2012 President Obama signed into law MAP-21, which, among other things, contained new National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") requirements for the Federal Transit Administration ("FTA") and Federal Highway Administration ("FHWA").  Earlier this month, pursuant to a mandate in MAP-21, FTA and FHWA adopted new regulations governing the implementation of two new categorical exclusions.  The two new categorical exclusions apply to (1) projects within an existing right-of-way, and (2) projects receiving limited Federal funding.  

NEPA is the ...

Posted in Right to Take

It's not too often you see one government agency threaten another agency with eminent domain.  But it does happen.  A recent article by Barbara Henry in the U-T San Diego, Encinitas has few options on Pacific View site, highlights on such dispute taking place right now.

According to the article, the City of Encinitas very much wants to acquire the Encinitas Union School District's 2.8-acre property that formerly housed the Pacific View Elementary School.  But the School District has rejected the City's overtures, turning down a $4.3 million offer to purchase.  Instead, the School ...

Posted in Projects

The City of Benicia recently secured funding to build the Benicia Industrial Park Bus Hub, a project that has been on the City's drawing board for years. But there are still some hurdles to construction.  The City will need to acquire at least one parcel for the project, and the owners of the parcel have questioned whether the City’s environmental review of the project is adequate.  The owners also have expressed concerns about the impacts of the project on their taco truck business.  But the City is confident that it can resolve these issues and just adopted a mitigated negative ...

Posted in Court Decisions

On October 31, 2013, the City of Santa Monica filed a complaint in federal court against the United States of America and the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") with the hope of confirming its alleged right to control the fate of the Santa Monica Airport.  Both sides agree that:  (i) the City leased the airport property to the United States in 1941 to support the war effort, (ii) the United States made substantial improvements to the property, (iii) the United States terminated the lease in 1948, (iv) the 1948 instrument terminating the lease contained a reversionary clause, and ...

Posted in Projects

The City of Sacramento took another step forward on the plan for a new multi-million dollar arena for the Sacramento Kings.  Last Tuesday, in a 7-2 vote, the city council passed a resolution of necessity approving the use of eminent domain to acquire a former Macy’s store property, which comprises more than half of the property needed for the $448 million dollar project.  Wasting no time at all, the City’s legal counsel filed the eminent domain action just two days later, and plans to file a motion to gain prejudgment possession of the property to keep the city’s construction timeline ...

Posted in Events

You know how sometimes you go to one of those educational seminars, and it sounds interesting, but then it turns out that a lot of it doesn't really apply to what you actually do?  We hate it when that happens, and so we are constantly trying to find that perfect seminar that covers exactly what we want it to cover. 

After months of careful searching, we didn't find what we were seeking, so we came up with a different plan.  We're going to host our own seminar and fill it full of exactly what we want to cover. 

On March 20, Nossaman will be hosting its first ever Eminent Domain Seminar.  It's going to be ...

California Eminent Domain Report is a one-stop resource for everything new and noteworthy in eminent domain. We cover all aspects of eminent domain, including condemnation, inverse condemnation and regulatory takings. We also keep track of current cases, project announcements, budget issues, legislative reform efforts and report on all major eminent domain conferences and seminars in the Western United States.

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