QUESTIONS SURROUNDING EMINENT DOMAIN:

By Douglas M. Holbrook

Disinvestment and decay within a neighborhood, if left unchecked, will worsen and ultimately infest surrounding neighborhoods.

REDEVELOPMENT HAS CREATED thousands of jobs in San Diego, provided housing at all income Levels, and contained sprawl by encouraging HIGH DENSITY in-fill development: Even with recent successes in downtown San Diego and other areas of the city, there is still a need for additional work.

California cannot afford to let its urbanized areas decline. Disinvestment and decay within a neighborhood, if left unchecked, will worsen and ultimately infest surrounding neighborhoods. Such deterioration drains a city's economic and tax base, strains its infrastructure, and precludes its citizens from enjoying a healthy and productive environment.

The California Constitution provides local governing bodies including , redevelopment agencies, with the authority to assemble private property in order to accomplish a necessary public benefit project such as the removal of blight necessary and under very specific conditions, eminent domain is allowed

Constitutional amendments and other bills introduced in the 2005 session of the State Legislature threaten 1oca1 government's ability to address such important community needs. The content of the proposed bills ranges from eliminating eminent domain, to establishing moratoriums and more regulations. If these bills/or constitutional amendments become law, success stories like downtown San Diego will no longer be possible.