California Eminent Domain Report

In 2006, what seemed to be a simple real estate transaction occurred:  the Jurupa Community Services District sold 4.3 acres of property it didn't need to Stadium Properties, which planned to re-zone the property and develop it with a mini-storage facility. 

The problem was that the Community Services Distrcit sold the property without first offering it to other public agencies, a requirement under California law (Government Code section 54222).  More problematic was that the Jurupa Area Recreation and Park District had purportedly been expressing interest in the property for years. 

In 2007, the Riverside County Grand Jury determined that the sale violated California law.  And, to make matters more interesting, serious allegations arose concerning the circumstances leading to the 2006 sale to Stadium Properties, an entity in which Representative Ken Calvert has an ownership interest. 

In October, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported that the FBI was looking into the sale and a 2008 lawsuit filed by the Park District against the Community Services District, accusing it of fraud and deceipt. 

Now, the Park District -- which wanted the property in the first place -- is considering (for the third time) a resolution of necessity to condemn the property.  According to Press-Enterprise reporter Sandra Stokley's November 11 article "Land seizure back on Jurupa park district agenda," the District has continued the hearing on the Resolution of Necessity twice previously, and was likely to continue it again to December 10 in order to give the parties additonal time to seek a settlement. 

Who said eminent domain was boring?