Golden State Supreme Court to Rule on Pre Condemnation Access. 3 Key Points & the Tie to Mexico Deregulated Market.

What’s the brouhaha? California Appellate Courts have split on how much pre condemnation access to property is permitted.

What’s the case awaiting oral argument in California? Property Reserve, Inc. v. Dep’t of Water Resources, No. S217738 Its about whether a water commission could enter lands for soil testing to further a water line.

Which way did the appellate court rule? The Court of Appeals sided with land owners that the pre-condemnation access was so extensive so as to trigger an unconstitutional taking of property

Why does this matter in Texas? Because issues related to pre-condemnation access have been raised by ranchers in the Pecos Pipeline which will traverse Texas to bring product to Mexico in support of Mexico’s newly deregulated market. 

Inverse Condemnation | Court Of Appeal Files Pro-Condemnor Amicus Brief In Cal Supreme Court “Entry Statute” Case

CalBar Journal Real property Law Section November 2015 Bulletin

Blight Fight via Tech. Low Cost Local Government Solution to Blight. 3 Things to Know.

How does a city figure out how many and which of its properties are blighted?

  • If the city is Mobile, Alabama, then it adopts Instagram
  • How did Mobile pay for this data driven blight program? 
    • Mobile won a three-year $1.65 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies
    • Created a municipal “innovation team,”
    • The innovation team is a handful of people who seek fresh, data-driven solutions to longstanding urban problems
  • What data does Mobile have on blight now?
    •  Old blight data existed solely via a 311 call log 
    • The photos help Mobile discern when the photo is that of an unkept yard from a photo of a fire damaged house that is a public safety threat
    • Mobile geo tags the photos so that the location of the property is documented
    • In 2 weeks, 926 blighted properties were identified
    • Mobile is up to 1,256 identified blighted properties
    • The 1,256 blighted properties are being prioritized by technology  that allows for data share among city departments

Governing | How Mobile, Alabama, Used Instagram to Address Blight

Update to No Eminent Domain for Power Lines Legislative Trend. Counter Punch with Economic Boon.

To counter Arkansas’ Congressmen opposition to the Plains & Eastern Clean Line transmission line, which would run through Arkansas but not provide electricity in Arkansas, an economic study was released.

Who authored the economic study?  the Center for Business and Economic Research at UA’s Sam M. Walton College of Business

What economic boon for Arkansas did the report show?

  • 30 month construction period
    • $182 million in labor income
    • $664 in economic output
    • 693 indirect and induced jobs
    • 855 direct jobs
  • Once operational, the clean energy transmission line will:
    • Employ 41
    • Create 28 indirect or induced jobs
    • Generate $3 million in labor income
    • Generate economic output of $10 million

Arkansas News | Report: Clean Line transmission project would boost state economy

Previously on Information Intelligence

Lege trend: Limit Eminent Domain in Power Line Issues

What bill wants to limit eminent domain power in power line cases? Congressmen Boozman & Womack each filed the Assuring Private Property Rights Over Vast Access to Land, or APPROVAL, Act, which would rewrite Section 1222 of the 2005 Energy Policy Act

What is it they want to limit? Federal government eminent domain authority in power line construction.

Why do they want to limit federal eminent domain power? They want to shift leverage to the states in interstate power line construction.

Why is this imporant to 2 guys from Arkansas? There is a regional power line that Arkansas and Missouri have sought to block at the state level because neither state would receive power from the lines. The lines would simply traverse AR and MO. The feds may usurp the state’s power to block the line.

Why is this important to Texas? Mexico de-regulation will lead to power lines built in Texas that bring power to Mexico, and that raises the question whether there is a public use in Texas exactly like the Congressmen from Arkansas are addressing.

Southwest Times Record | Boozman, Womack Speak In Support Of Bill To Limit Eminent Domain 

 

 

 

 

Water Rights Meet Eminent Domain. Meet Farmers in Sooner State. 5 Points for You.

Farmers in Oklahoma are joining forces over the use of eminent domain to aquire water rights to allow for the sale of Oklahoma’s water. 

5 Points that will Make You the Expert.

  • Oklahoma sells water to Texas.
  • A grass roots group has emerged, Oklahomans for Responsible Water Policy
  • Grass Roots say farmers support granting eminent domain authority for water rights
  • Farmers say grass roots is wrong, that they are working for the best outcome for farmers 
  • How does this play in Texas? In May, the Texas Supreme Court affirmed that a water district that denied a farmer ‘s right to draw water is a taking of his private property rights via his water rights. Water is property. Property Rights matter in Texas.

KSWO | Controversy over water rights in Oklahoma

307 Eminent Domain Actions. 1 Partial High Speed Rail in the Golden State

What project has triggered 307 eminent domain petitions? California’s first leg of the Los Angeles to San Francisco high speed rail.

How many acres does this represent being taken? Since December 2013, 307 eminent domain actions for high speed rail have accounted for 1,135 acres of land.

Which agencies approve the use of eminent domain for high speed rail in California? California’s General Services, Transportation and Finance departments

Fresno Bee | State churns more condemnation resolutions for high-speed rail

Federal Legislation Stops Agencies from using Eminent Domain.

Who filed a bill? Republican House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah

What motivated him?  Learning that federal agencies used 61% of the Land and Water Conservation Fund to acquire land

What is the agency response? “The Interior Department argues it doesn’t use eminent domain to grab up contested land, but rather as a legal tool to reach a price agreement with willing sellers. “

The draft Congressional legislation

Alaska Dispatch News | U.S . House seeks revamp of federal conservation fund

 

Town of 10,000 Tries Redevelopment. Includes Eminent Domain. Lawsuit on Horizon.

A small town redevelopment effort to revitalize vacant industrial property surprised city council members when it was revealed that the Institute for Justice is interested in the issue. 

The Institute for Justice represents land owners who are facing condemnation or forefeiture of their property. 

The Mount Airy News | Eminent domain issue sparks legal threat

Legal Trend: Quick Take Property When Not Building Roads? Court Says No. How Texas Fits into the Mix.

What’s a quick take? Once an eminent domain suit is filed, the entity exercising eminent domain claims ownership of the property.

Where is this Court that’s limiting quick take of property rights? Ohio

Is the court saying no quick take, that the courts have to decide before the property ownership can transfer to the condemning entity? No, the court says the Ohio constitution limits this ability to the taking of land for roads only.

How does this apply in Texas? In Texas, once an eminent domain proceeding begins, the condemning entity can begin its project, while the pending court case resolves itself. 

The 1851 Center of Constititional Law | Ohio Court: Cities Cannot Immediately Seize Private Property When Not For Roads

2015 House Interim Charges. Property Rights. Spans 6 Committees.

Eminent Domain

Private Property Rights | Asset Forfeiture | Annexation | Special Districts

THE HOUSE INTERIM CHARGES

  • Business & Industry: whether property owner associations restrict property rights
  • Criminal Jurisprudence: civil asset forfeiture & data reporting
  • Culture, Recreation & Tourism: protecting private property rights on the San Marcos River
  • Defense & Veterans Affairs: private property rights, seller disclosures & military bases.
  • Land & Resource Management: beach erosion and private property rights; annexation & ETJs
  • Special Purpose Districts: consistent eminent domain use by municipal management districts

 

 

EMINENT DOMAIN | YOUR INFORMED INTEL

 

2015 House Interim Charges 
 

One State Treats Natural Gas Pipes Differently than Petroleum Pipelines. One needs Willing Buyers. The Other– not so Much.

In the 1990s, Georgia wants to protect wealthy quail plantation owners from a new oil pipeline, so it passed new laws related only to oil pipelines.

What does an oil pipeline have to do that a natural gas pipeline doesn’t have to do for eminent domain approval? A pipeline that carries gasoline, diesel and ethanol must:

  • Get Georgia DOT approval and
  • Be approved by Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division 

Has this been a hurdle? yes, it has stopped a pipeline by Kinder Morgan. The comapny is now working to gain all willing sellers for the land needed for its pipeline.

Is there litigation? Yes, Kinder Morgan has asked for court approval after state agencies denied their eminent domain power request.

Are other states looking to increase the requirements before eminent domain can be used by private comapnies? yes, South Carolina is seeking to emulate the additional requirements that Georgia has in place. 

Savannah Morning News | Lunches, lobbyists and gifts smooth path for Palmetto Pipeline