Property Rights and Fairness

http://www.castlecoalition.org/publications is a good place for reading on the topic of Eminent Domain.


The case below is where the construction is a PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT... and the use of Eminent Domain would be ok. However, mitigation of the relocation should be fair, and the businesses should be put in a situation equal or better than the pre relocation situation.---

This is what all the businesses along the 215 / Barton Rd will enjoy.

This is only half of the pain and suffering the City of Grand Terrace inflicted upon the owners of property in areas it has designs on for the "Redevelopment Projects of Tom Schwab's Choice". Redevelopment that forces a person off their land for a Retail Store or Development that is NOT a Public Utility, or Public Service such as a Road or School is in Gramp's Opinion Criminal THEFT and a VIOLATION OF AN INDIVIDUALS RIGHT TO PROPERTY.

On Thu, 7/3/08,
story from pe.com.

(Page at: http://www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_News_Local_W_wmagnolia02.49ee5df.html)

Now the term forced relocation is being used instead of ED.
======================================================================
Some Riverside business owners express frustration about underpass project
11:03 AM PDT on Wednesday, July 2, 2008
By DOUG HABERMAN

The Press-Enterprise

Video: The proposed Union Pacific underpass at Magnolia Avenue near the
Riverside Plaza

RIVERSIDE - The $50 million underpass planned on Magnolia Avenue at the Union
Pacific Railroad tracks near Riverside Plaza will provide relief to motorists
but is causing headaches for business owners who move to make way.

A majority of the affected 26 businesses have relocated and others are
preparing to move. At least one business hasn't found a new location.

Some of the business owners said it has not been easy dealing with the city
and many expressed concerns they would not be fairly compensated for the forced
relocations.

Assistant City Manager Michael Beck said the city's goal is to minimize
the inconvenience of the relocation and its effect on each firm's or
store's business. But the city also has a responsibility to taxpayers to be
prudent, he said.

The city hired Epic Land Solutions to work with the targeted businesses.
However, all the business owners who have moved or will move shortly found
their new locations on their own, said Epic project manager Walt Evans.

"We've tried like heck" to help them but there's limited
commercial property available in Riverside, Evans said.

(PHOTO: Story continues below Ramon Mena Owens / The Press-Enterprise
Adrian van de water, owner of Specialized Mercedes Service in Riverside, plans
to relocate his auto repair shop to a building at the Tava Center on Arlington
Avenue, where his rent will double, he said. )

Kim Robson, owner of Jerl's Muffler & Brake, said it took six months
to find a suitable site.

"If we hadn't done all this on our own, we would be on the
street," he said.

His shop, which has been in its location for 30 years and is mostly outdoors,
is moving this fall to Indiana Avenue near Van Buren Boulevard.

The city is making Jerl's build a building to do all its work indoors to
comply with new codes, Robson said. The city won't reimburse Jerl's for
the full cost of the new building, he said, so he has hired an attorney.

Beck said Robson, like all the business owners, was provided with a document
outlining what is and is not eligible for compensation and Robson didn't
follow the guidelines.

"It's a battle," Robson said. "If they want us out, they
have to help us."

'Frustrating Ordeal'

J.Z.'s Party Charm, which rents tables, chairs, silverware and more for
parties, weddings and other events, moved this spring from a 7,000-square-foot
building with ample storage space to a 2,000-square-foot converted house on
Magnolia between Jackson Street and Van Buren Boulevard.

Owner Sandy Sandoval said Epic was helpful, but all the suggested locations
would have cost $2.75 to $4.50 a square foot while he was paying 50 cents a
square foot in Magnolia Center, where he had been for nine years.

(PHOTO: Story continues below )

His new place's small size forced him to rent storage for much of his
equipment, Sandoval said. He wasn't reimbursed when the city made him put
in a handicapped ramp and he widened the driveway to create extra parking
spaces.

The city has paid him back for the cost of the move and some improvements to
the house, such as telephone installations, but he had to push to get the
money, Sandoval said.

"It was a frustrating ordeal," he said.

Elliotts' For Pets hasn't found a new location, said Donna Elliott,
who owns the store with her husband, Patrick. They've been in business
since 1973 and have leased their location, which she called
"excellent," for 12 years.

They want to stay in Magnolia Center so they don't lose their customers,
Donna Elliott said.

The potential new sites Epic has suggested haven't worked out, Elliott
said.

"The properties are either too large, too small, bad area or too far
away," she said.

The lack of progress is discouraging, Elliott said.

"I am anxious," she said. "We don't want to go out of
business."

Rent Doubles

Adrian van de Water plans to relocate his auto repair shop, Specialized
Mercedes Service, to a building being constructed for him at the Tava Center on
Arlington Avenue on the east side of Highway 91, where his rent will double, he
said.

So far, he said, the city is only offering him what state law requires toward
making up the difference: $10,000.

"Why should I, a little business guy, be punished by my rent
doubling?" van de Water said. He has to put in all the tenant improvements
in the new building, he said, and is negotiating with the city over how much of
those costs it will pay for.

"I just want what's fair," he said.

Center Lumber has found a site on Jurupa Avenue north of Riverside Municipal
Airport but hasn't reached a deal with the city to enable a move there,
owner Jeff Eshelman said.

He dealt with Epic for a year or so and got nowhere, he said.

Eshelman finally came to a City Council meeting and pleaded for help. The
situation has improved since then, he said.

He and the city are negotiating the price of his Magnolia Avenue property,
which is more than an acre. Though they remain far apart, he is hopeful about
reaching a deal, including relocation costs, Eshelman said.

"I really feel that they're trying to do their best," he said.

Reach Doug Haberman at 951-368-9644 or dhaberman@PE.com

on track

The proposed Magnolia Avenue underpass at the Union Pacific Railroad line near
Riverside Plaza requires 26 businesses to relocate.

Estimated cost: $50 million, half for property acquisition and business
relocation

Money needed: $3 million

Construction start: June 2009

Construction finish: December 2010

Average daily traffic on Magnolia: 25,300 vehicles, including 10 school buses
and 178 RTA buses

Average number of trains per day: 47 freight and 12 Metrolink trains

Average time crossing arms are down: 2.5 hours a day

SOURCE: CITY OF RIVERSIDE