Eminent Domain Report

Last Friday I spoke at the CLE Eminent Domain Conference in San Francisco.  The topic of my talk was "The Death And Possible Rebirth of Redevelopment in California."  I spoke on the current state of limbo in which redevelopment agencies find themselves as a result of the passage of ABX1 26 and ABX1 27 and the ensuing lawsuit challenging their constitutionality.  While I mentioned that the California Supreme Court would be hearing arguments on November 10th, I neglected to mention how to access the webcast of the proceedings.  For those interested in watching the arguments, direct your browser at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 10, 2011 to the California Channel at www.calchannel.com. 

Back in August, the Court agreed to hear the case on an expedited basis, so as to reach a decision before Jan. 15, 2012, when the first payments under AB1x 27 would be due.  The positions staked out by the two sides were neatly summarized in statements given this morning on Sacramento's Capital Public Radio by H.D. Palmer of the Governor's Department of Finance and Chris McKenzie of the League of California Cities.

Palmer: "We believe the law is clear, that these agencies were created by an act of the legislature, and similarly, they can be dissolved by an act of the legislature."

McKenzie: "It's an abuse of their power - you can't violate the constitution and claim, oh, but we really are just using this other power that we have."

We expect to see these conflicting arguments probed and challenged by the Supreme Court Justices on Thursday.  Check back here later in the week for our take on the arguments and how they were received.