City Gives Go Ahead to the Army Corps of Engineers to Begin Restoration
A plan to have the Army Corps of Engineers alter the Los Angeles River for the purpose of ecosystem restoration was approved by a Los Angeles City Council committee. The $8.1-million approved plan is part of the larger $1.6-billion effort to revitalize an 11-mile stretch of the river and return it from the concrete channel… Read more »
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 »
California High Speed Rail Authority Moving Forward in Los Angeles
Despite continued efforts to derail the bullet train and the decision to build the train to San Jose first, the California High-Speed Rail Authority has been authorized to acquire its first two pieces of property in downtown Los Angeles. Last Friday, the state Public Works Board, which oversees the acquisition of property and fiscal… Read more »
California Eminent Domain Project News: CHSRA’s Proposed Palmdale to Burbank Routes Get Opposition from Southern California Cities and Residents
Opposition to the California High Speed Rail project is growing as Southern Californians’ concerns appear to be increasing over the proposed routes for the $68 billion bullet train’s Palmdale to Burbank segment. Approximately 300 city officials and residents from various Southern California cities attended California High Speed Rail Authority’s (“CHSRA”) Board meeting on Tuesday in… Read more »
Rebirth of Redevelopment in California: Impairing Private Property Rights or Revitalization?
In a 63-13 vote, Assembly Bill 2, authored by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Salinas, passed in the California State Assembly last week. The bill allows for so-called “Community Revitalization Investment Authorities” – essentially redevelopment agencies with a different title – to acquire private property through eminent domain and make it available to big developers with the… Read more »
California High Speed Rail Project: Relocation Considerations for Displaced Businesses, Farms and Non-Profits
The California High Speed Rail project has been slowly, but surely, picking up its pace of property acquisition in the Central Valley. So far, the State Public Works Board has adopted 192 resolutions of necessity declaring the CHSRA’s intent to file eminent domain actions in court to acquire properties. Last month alone, CHSRA approved resolutions… Read more »
California Eminent Domain Project News: CHSRA Updates State Legislature on the Bullet Train Project
This week, the California High Speed Rail Authority issued its biannual Project Update Report to the State Legislature. The report provides a synopsis of the Authority’s funding, environmental review, land acquisition (eminent domain), and construction activities for the California High Speed Rail Project. Of note, the Authority advises that the Project’s first operating segment… Read more »
California Eminent Domain Project News: Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project, Updates and Current Issues
Construction of the Crenshaw/LAX green line has been underway for many months now. The project is planned to connect the north-south Crenshaw Line and the east-west Green Line into a monorail system that extends towards the LAX. This 8.5 mile light-rail line will include 8 stations between the Expo Line on Exposition Boulevard and the… Read more »
California Eminent Domain Project News: California High Speed Rail Settles Lawsuit with Bakersfield
Last month, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board held that the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, is pre-empted by federal environmental law relative to the Fresno-Bakersfield route of the proposed high speed rail. STB stated in their opinion that CEQA could delay or eliminate a rail project even after a federal board, such as the… Read more »
Redevelopment Is Back in California
Back in 2011, Governor Jerry Brown abolished redevelopment agencies in California successfully gaining $1.5 billion of the redevelopment funding to close California’s budget gap. Recently, three bills have reached the Governor’s office in an attempt to revive redevelopment in California. Gov. Brown has signed two of those bills, Senate Bill 628 and Assembly Bill 229,… Read more »