California Eminent Domain Report

For years, we've been working with our public agency clients during the environmental and design-phase to minimize right-of-way impacts with new infrastructure projects.  Yet for many agencies, property acquisitions are an afterthought, as the costs of construction and environmental impacts headline agencies' concerns.  That thought process is slowly beginning to change, as agencies are starting to recognize that right-of-way acquisition can significantly delay projects, resulting in construction delay claims, change orders, loss of project funding, and in ...

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 ...

On October 5, 2013, Governor Brown signed AB 401 (Daly, D- Anaheim) into law.  The new law grants Caltrans, Orange County Transportation Authority, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and other regional transportation agencies expanded authority to use design build for project procurement.  You can view a summary of the new law here.  Highlights include:

• Caltrans is now able to use design-build procurement for 10 projects on the state highway system;
• The Orange County Transportation Authority may now use design-build for improvements on the I-405;
• The Santa Clara ...

Both Chapters 57 and 67 of the IRWA have June meetings upcoming (their last meetings before the summer hiatus).  Details are:

• June 2, 2010:  Chapter 57 is meeting at the Riverside Convention Center, located at 3443 Orange Street, Riverside.  The speaker will be Ken MacVey, an eminent domain attorney with Best, Best & Krieger in Riverside.  Contact Communications Chair Jan Spindler for more information.
• June 8, 2010:  Chapter 67 is meeting at the Holiday Inn, Orange County Airport, located at 2726 South Grand Avenue, Santa Ana.  We will have two speakers, Ricky Rodriguez from Caltrans ...

This week the Orange County Register reported in an article titled "Transportation agency to spend millions saving habitat" that the Orange County Transportation Commission is "beginning quietly" with what could be "one of the largest habitat preservation efforts in county history" by which the OCTA may acquire millions of dollars of land to protect native landscape.

The article states:

The preservation push [is] meant as a hedge against possible habitat damage from a 30-year, $4.8 billion freeway improvement project the agency is planning.

According to the article, the ...