LaMalfa rips ruling on eminent domain
DN Staff report
Yolo judge OKs acquisition of Conaway Ranch
WOODLAND Yolo Superior Court Judge Timothy Fall Thursday ruled that
Yolo County can acquire Conaway Ranch through eminent domain
proceedings.
"The Yolo County Board of Supervisors applauds the court's decision,"
said board chair Helen Thomson.
"Today's ruling allows us to preserve the most significant remaining
open space and agricultural lands in the county, for the future of our
county, by protecting it from private land speculators and developers
and keeping our water in Yolo County," Thomson said.
Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, doesn't see the victory as a
positive. In fact, in a statement released Thursday, he decried the
ruling.
"It is disappointing to be that the ruling was against the legal owners
of this land, but it only underscores what needs to be done to
safeguard private property ownership in this state," said LaMalfa.
"The land grabbers and their apologists would say that we already have
adequate protection," LaMalfa said.
"This decision clearly illustrates the deficiency in law that judge and
jury would make such a finding regarding farmland legally purchased and
owed by any Californians," LaMalfa said.
Conaway Ranch, east of Woodland, consists of 17,300 acres of
agriculture and wetlands habitat and 50,000 acre-feet of water rights.
In the spring of 2004, National Energy & Gas Transmission, Inc. (NEGT),
a bankrupt Maryland-based company, put Conaway Ranch up for sale in a
closed-bidding process not legally open to the county as a public
agency.
According to a press release sent by Yolo County, after attempts to
negotiate with NEGT were rebuffed the Yolo County Board of Supervisors
voted unanimously on July 8, 2004, to take action to protect and
preserve Yolo County's largest remaining agricultural and open space
area.
Supervisors chose to initiate eminent domain proceedings, a process
which includes determining fair market value of the property for which
the owners would be justly compensated.
Five months into the process, a consortium of land speculators and the
Sierra Health Foundation, led by a well-known developer, Steve Gidaro,
purchased the property from NEGT.
"Had we not done all we could to acquire this resource for public
benefit, to ensure that the ranch is preserved and protected for future
generations, we would have sold out the citizens of Yolo County," said
Yolo County Supervisor Mike McGowan. "This is an issue of public
interest versus private profiteering."
LaMalfa said that the case should be a rallying point to further pursue
the cause of eminent domain reform through a reluctant Legislature.
"If they will not do the right thing, we will join the people of
California to do it ourselves with a ballot initiative in November
2006."
This action allows the county to move forward with the acquisition
process. LaMalfa added that there isn't a legitimate reason for the
county to do this.
"This story is not over by any stretch, and I expect more legal
wrangling on Conaway," said LaMalfa. "But beyond that, we must secure
statewide property rights and stop these abuses, such as Yolo
supervisors' efforts to take Conaway Ranch, that represents no
legitimate public use."
.
|
