California Eminent Domain Report : a blog following condemnation, inverse condemnation, and regulatory takings written by attorneys with Nossaman LLP.

According to an Orange County Register article, "O.C. may force sale of property for tunnel," Orange County officials are considering the use of eminent domain to acquire 20 parking spaces from a Huntington Beach apartment complex.  The property is necessary for a storm drain project which tunnels under the I-405 freeway.  

The County's storm drain project is in response to a 1995 flood which required the evacuation of the apartment complex's ground-floor units.  The property owner has been offered $96,500 for the 7,200 square feet that make up the 22 parking spaces.  

The County's proposed taking, however, is only temporary, and the property will apparently be returned to the owner when construction is completed.  Such an acquisition is typically referred to as a "Temporary Construction Easement," and although temporary, a property owner is still entitled to just compensation for the taking. 

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On Tuesday, the City of Lake Forest voted unanimously to move forward with plans to condemn a 6.11-acre parcel to use as a land swap with the County of Orange.  The property will likely end up being incorporated into Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park. 

According to Orange County Register reporter Erika I. Ritchie, in her November 4 article "City moves forward with seizure of family's land," the property's owner, the Hernandez family, has resisted all efforts by the City to acquire the property voluntarily.   But the City needs the property to complete a land swap with the County that will facilitate the City's plans for a sports park:

[C]ounty officials have agreed to a land swap that will provide the city with more space for its proposed sports park and the county with an added parcel to become part of Limestone-Whiting Wilderness Park.

The real issue, as is most often the case when the government resorts to eminent domain, appears to be money.  The Hernandez family believes the property should be valued for a commercial use, and claims that such properties are selling for $25 to $45 per square foot.  The City's appraiser has apparently concluded that the property's highest and best use is not commercial, as the City's offer is purportedly for only $3 per square foot.

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