As recognized under California’s Eminent Domain Law, agencies considering the acquisition of property for a public use may need to enter and inspect the property to make photographs, studies, examinations, tests, borings, and the like. Typically, conducting such activities requires either the consent of the owner or, if the owner refuses, an order from the…
Extraterritorial Condemnation
Unless authorized by statute, Section 1240.050 of the Eminent Domain Law precludes a local public entity from acquiring property by eminent domain outside its territorial limits. An exception exists where such power is expressly granted by statute or necessarily implied as an incident of one of its other statutory powers. A number of statutes specifically…
Authorization to Condemn? Yes, provided it is necessary for the attractiveness, safety, or usefulness of a project
California Code of Civil Procedure §1240.020: A public agency may condemn property for a particular public use where the Legislature has delegated the power to condemn for that use. But what if the project’s design includes construction of a specific, but tangential, structure or thing for which the legislature has not given the agency the…
Overzealous Engineering: Does the Property Owner Really Want That Temporary Construction Easement?
Often times, I encounter a project design that includes a temporary construction easement (TCE) which purpose is for the agency to reconfigure/restripe an entire parking lot, or reconstruct landscaping being altered by a taking (for example, a street widening project). As the matter moves closer to condemnation, it is not uncommon for the property owner…
Getting Your Property Back: Rutgard and CCP section 1245.245
Mr. Sozio will discuss the recent case of Rutgard v. City of Los Angeles, which deals with a public agency’s obligation to offer the property taken to the former owner if it is not used after ten years, as well as other intricacies of Section 1245.245 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The conference agenda…
Terminating Dormant Mineral Rights
Every so often, a condemning agency may come across an exception to title indicating the existence of mineral rights 500 feet or more below the surface, with no surface right of entry. If during the last 20 years there has been no production of the minerals and no exploration, drilling, mining or development that affected…