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 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 »
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 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 »
California Eminent Domain Project News: Senate Committee Rejects Attempts at Another Vote for the California High Speed Rail
The ongoing tug-of-war between rail backers and opponents to the project has led to delays in California’s plan to build a high speed rail. Since its voter-back initiative, Proposition 1A, was passed back in 2008, the California High Speed Rail project has encountered numerous bumps in the road. The latest was the appeal denied by… Read more »
Pre-Condemnation Entry: Procedure Can Be Unconstitutional, 4/25/14
The Third Appellate District Court of Appeals has ruled that pre-condemnation entry on to the property an agency is seeking to condemn may be unconstitutional. If upheld, it will ultimately create significant obstacles for agencies to overcome in attempts to progress with eminent domain actions. Historically, California law entitled agencies to enter properties “to make… Read more »
California Eminent Domain Project News: California Speeds Up on the High-Speed Rail Project
Even as the controversial High-Speed Rail project continues to be debated on in the Capitol and challenged in the courts, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (“CHSRA”) is already taking action towards the project. CHSRA has begun to acquire private property to build the foundation for the speed-rail’s tracks. Thousands of properties will be affected by… Read more »
Power poles, land acquisition trip up Visalia’s plans for transforming Mooney/Walnut intersection; Visalia Times-Delta, 11/20/09
By Marty Burleson Efforts to transform the Mooney Boulevard/Walnut Avenue intersection into something more user-friendly — two Walnut lanes in each direction, additional turn lanes — depend on the acquisition of private property on the northwest corner. Plans call for the relocation of 85-foot power lines from the south side of Walnut to the north… Read more »
Board of Supervisors moves to seize land for Road 108 project while still in property negotiations; Visalia Times-Delta, 11/11/09
By Valerie Gibbons Another road project has the Tulare County Board of Supervisors flirting with declaring eminent domain for a number of parcels. Stimulus-funded construction along Road 108, or Demaree Street, between Visalia and Tulare prompted the board Tuesday to ask the court to start the eminent-domain process on four parcels for a thin strip… Read more »