Chinatown (the Movie) Revisted: Inyo County Seeks to Take Back Water Rights Through Eminent Domain
About a century ago, agents from Los Angeles — disguised as ranchers and farmers — quietly began purchasing land in Owens Valley that held water rights. Soon, residents of Inyo County found most of their water rights now belonged to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (“DWP”). DWP imports the water to Los… Read more »
Delta Twin Tunnel Project Flowing Towards Approval
California Gov. Jerry Brown’s controversial water-diversion project in Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta area was given the green light by federal wildlife agencies as the state continues to seek required permits that are critical to starting construction on the project. The $17-billion plan would build two massive, 35-mile-long tunnels under the delta that moves water from… Read more »
Environmental Challenge to the Mid County Parkway Project Rejected
Environmental challenges filed against the Mid County Parkway, a proposed 16-mile freeway project that would link Perris and San Jacinto, have been denied by a federal judge. United States District Judge George Wu rejected the legal challenge filed by environmental groups under the National Environmental Policy Act. The lawsuit was filed by environmental groups… Read more »
California High-Speed Rail Project Secures Critical Funds
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) secured critical funding, nearly $1.2 billion from two major sources, for a Bay Area project that is considered key to completing the $64-billion rail project — making the rail project much more likely. Thumbs up was given to the rail authority to proceed with the $2-billion Caltrain electrification… Read more »
Eminent Domain and Climate Change
The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments earlier this month on whether limiting a permit to replace a seawall that would protect homeowners living on a bluff-top to a 20 year period constituted as a taking of private property. Thomas Frick and Barbara Lynch are challenging whether the California Coastal Commission has the authority to… Read more »
The California High Speed Train Keeps on Rollin’
For the second time, a Sacramento County Superior judge has kept the high speed rail project from being derailed. Judge Raymond Cadei denied a preliminary injunction — after denying a temporary restraining order (TRO) one month earlier — that would have blocked the state from spending nearly $1.25 billion of recently authorized bond funding to… Read more »
Will the Fifth Amendment Become a Barrier to Trump’s Plan to Build a Wall?
Some 450 businesses have submitted design proposals to be a part of the controversial U.S.-Mexico wall project. Over the last few months, there has been a lot of interest and academic discussion on the feasibility of the project from a logistics perspective to an engineering perspective. As eminent domain lawyers, we’re going to focus this… Read more »
California Continues to Fund High Speed Rail After Fed’s Decision to Hold
The Federal Transit Administration’s decision to halt the funding ($647 million) for the electrification of the Caltrain — a key part of extending California’s high speed rail to the Bay area — didn’t stop the rail authority. Even though the FTA stated they needed “additional time to complete review of this significant commitment to Federal… Read more »
Is High Speed Rail Back On Track?
A Sacramento County Superior judge rejected the latest attempt to derail the high-speed rail project. Judge Raymond Cadei rejected a temporary restraining order intended to stop the sale of bonds until a court could rule on whether spending it would violate Proposition 1A. The lawsuit challenged the constitutionality of AB1889 — a last-minute piece… Read more »
Feds Put High-Speed Rail Project on Shaky Ground
A $647 million grant to help modernize and electrify the Caltrain, which is considered a key part of extending California’s high-speed rail to the Bay area, has been halted by the Federal Transit Administration — and in the process killed any chance of the high-speed rail coming to San Francisco anytime soon. In a… Read more »