California Eminent Domain Project News: Initial Segment of High Speed Rail Reduced by 8 Miles
A settlement agreement between the City of Bakersfield and California High Speed Rail Authority (“CHSRA”) has resulted in an eight mile reduction of the initial 130-mile segment of the high speed rail in part of the Central Valley. Last December, CHSRA and the City of Bakersfield settled a lawsuit brought by Bakersfield city officials concerning… 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: California High Speed Rail Construction Slowed Down by Lack of Land
The recent approval of 160 parcels between Fresno and Kings County for segment two of the high speed rail track has stirred up some excitement for rail backers. As the California High Speed Rail Authority (“CHSRA”) wastes no time in preparing for construction of the second segment, questions about the first segment construction arise. So… Read more »
California Eminent Domain Project News: Update Part Two – Court of Appeals Decision Means Big Win for California High Speed Rail Authority
Back in April, the California High Speed Rail Authority took a hit when the State Court of Appeals denied its petition to overturn a decision by the Sacramento County Superior Court regarding CHSRA’s alleged noncompliance with the provisions of Prop 1A. On Thursday, ruling on a portion of the Superior Court decision which the Court… Read more »
California Eminent Domain Project News: CHSRA Adds Palmdale to Burbank Track on Route
California High Speed Rail’s recent increase in activity in the Central Valley has caused some rail backers and opponents to voice their dissatisfaction with the “train to nowhere” plan. Both groups have taken the position that starting the high speed bullet train in the Central Valley has no benefit. The dissatisfaction has caused a political… Read more »
California Eminent Domain Project News: Valley GOP Rally House to Put an End to High-Speed Rail
The GOP is rallying its troops in an effort to throw the California High Speed Rail project off its tracks. Efforts to do so, however, have been met with the full-blown resistance of the rail backers; they are not giving up their high-speed train without a fight. Valley GOP delegates are deploying a transportation funding… Read more »
California Eminent Domain Project News: California High Speed Rail Authority’s Funding Dinged Again
A recently approved transportation bill which has blocked CHSRA’s possibility of getting additional federal funding for the up-coming fiscal year is not the only money crisis facing the rail project. The planned funding by the State for the high-speed rail has been tentatively approved for $250 million beginning in fiscal 2015. This massive sum, however,… Read more »
California Eminent Domain Project News: CHSRA Receives a Record of Decision from Federal Railroad Administration, Fresno-Bakersfield Tracks Approved
On Friday the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the 114 mile high speed rail track from Fresno to Bakersfield. The DOR reflects the FRA’s adaptation of a preferred alternative to the track which was outlined in the Final Environmental Impact Statement. The FRA chose the alternative track alignment in… Read more »
California Eminent Domain Project News: CHSRA Gives Thumbs Up on Fresno-Bakersfield Track
On May 7, California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) board members voted on the next section of the rail project. The two-part vote resulted in the approval of the 114-mile route from downtown Fresno to the northern outskirts of Bakersfield. The first part of the vote was dedicated to the 20,000 page Environmental Impact Report… Read more »