The following post is a comment from “Murrieta Old Timer” about the blight issue. If you live in old town you might want to give it a read.
ARE YOU AWARE THAT YOU CAN LOSE YOUR HOME, PROPERTY OR BUSINESS TO THE CITY OF MURRIETA?
How? Murrieta Redevelopment plan has instituted in it a BLIGHT clause “to eliminate the conditions of blight existing in the project area and to prevent the recurrence of blighting conditions in the project area.” The agency would exist to eliminate these conditions of the property, which gives them the police power to file eminent domain against your Home, Property Or Business.
What is Redevelopment or RDA and how does it work? To eliminate alleged blight, a redevelopment agency, once created, has four extraordinary powers held by no other government authority:
1. Tax Increment: A redevelopment agency has the exclusive use of all increases in property tax revenues ("tax increment") generated in its designated project areas.
2. Bonded Debt: An agency has the power to sell bonds secured against future tax increment, and may do so without voter approval.
3. Business Subsidies: An agency has the power to give public money directly to developers and other private businesses in the form of cash grants, tax rebates, free land or public improvements.
4.Eminent Domain: An agency has expanded powers to condemn private property, not just for public use, but to transfer to other private owners.
These four powers represent an enormous expansion of government intrusion into our traditional system of private property and free enterprise. Under redevelopment, "public use" now includes privately owned shopping centers, auto malls and movie theaters. "Public use" is now anything a favored developer wants to do with another individual's land. Eminent domain is used to effect what once were purely private transactions. Its use nearly always favors large developers at the expense of small property owners. In a typical redevelopment project, a developer is given an "exclusive negotiating agreement," or the sole right to develop property still owned by others.
Once such an agreement is made, small property owners are pressured to sell to the redevelopment agency, which acquires the land on behalf of the developer. If refused, the agency holds a public hearing to determine "public need and necessity" to impose eminent domain. By law, this must be an impartial hearing. In reality, the agency has already committed itself to acquire the property for the developer, so there is little doubt of the outcome.
Whole areas of cities have been acquired, demolished and handed over to developers to recreate in their own image. Historic buildings, local businesses and unique neighborhoods are replaced by generic developments devoid of the special flavor that once gave communities their identity.
Can this happen to downtown Murrieta?
Yes it can…
Typical is the experience of Anaheim. Having demolished its historic central business district in the mid-1970s, the redevelopment agency recently hired consultants to help restore the identity of a downtown that no longer exists. "The complete eradication of the traditional business district has left nothing for the community to relate to as their downtown," admits an internal city memo.
How do they do that?
A developer will look to areas that have future potential, an area that has a redevelopment plan in process. The developer will approach the cities RDA, with complete demographics of the area as well as projected potential for future income to the cities’ coffers by way of sales tax, proving that the business or residences they have to offer will benefit the city much more than the present owners home or business. Again proving this is for the “good of all of the public”, justifying the need for condemnation of the property in question. The cities RDA will then make an agreement with the developer and should the developer fail at acquiring the property(s), business or home then the agency will implement condemnation and proceed with eminent domain. The developer will then approach the owner, offering to purchase their property, business or home. Should the owner(s) accept, business owners are compensated and relocated, but often in distant areas far from their established customer base. Cut off from the community that nurtured them, they often cannot survive.
Unfortunately, the property value is based lower because they are located in a blighted area, this is bad for the owner but good for the developer. The developer is able to purchase at deflated prices, knowing full well that values will triple once the project is in place. But the property owner oft-times is not given enough recompensation to relocate in the city or area they once had, because the amount of the sale is well below what the market will bear.
Should the property owner choose not to sell, then as stated above, the city will enforce a police power through their Code enforcement referring to such conditions as a “public nuisance” and implement the process of condemnation & eminent domain. Small property owners have little chance to participate in redevelopment projects. Consultants and redevelopment planners prefer to work with one huge parcel under a single ownership. Entrepreneurs and homeowners just get in the way.
What is the real truth about Blight?
Basically Blight is anything that is considered undesirable in a city’s eyes, and can constitute condemnation.
California is one of the most active states in condemning properties for the benefit of other private parties. In California, before a city can condemn land and then transfer it to another private party, it must approve a local redevelopment plan and designate the area as blighted. After these two steps, eminent domain can be used against any and all properties within the area. Owners who do not want to be condemned in the future need to challenge the redevelopment plans in their City, in what is called in California a validation action.
Alarm bells should go off when you hear…
“This is a great project”, and “Eminent domain will only be used as a last resort.” That just means that if the residents or businesses don’t agree to sell, eminent domain will be used. “We’ll take care of you.” You may be willing to move if there is sufficient compensation, that’s fine, but don’t be fooled by any oral agreements as to what will happen. If you don’t have it in writing, it doesn’t mean anything at all. On the whole, while there may be a few exceptions, anything that a government employee tells you is not binding on the government agency. “We want to include you in the redevelopment project area, but you won’t be condemned.” Even a written promise that you will not be condemned can’t be enforced later if the government changes its mind. For compensation issues, the only protection is to get it in writing. For condemnation, the only protection is to make sure the agency does not have the power to condemn and that means making sure you are not in the redevelopment area or the agency is not authorized to do condemnations.
Murrieta City Code enforcement is a basis for use of blight. Go to the local police department and ask to see the code enforcement brochure. If your property(s), home or business has any of the violations, they will be enforced and can be used against you as a justification to eliminating your property from the down town project area.
A word about deadlines and dates:
You may receive notices or other information in the mail. You should look at these notices to see if they mention that you must do something by a certain date or in a certain time. A lot of times, owners will see something like this, worry about it for a week, perhaps ask someone about it, wait another week, and then miss the deadline. DO NOT IGNORE DEADLINES. In law, if you miss a date to do something, you may lose important rights.
Discussions between the City and developers:
Discussions at a Redevelopment Agency or City Council about a possible project,
And/or news stories about the possibility of a project: These are the first rumblings about a potential RDA project. When you hear these, start organizing and making it clear that there will be massive citizen opposition to any effort to take people’s property.
Public hearings about designating an area as blighted or a redevelopment zone:
This will happen in some situations but not in others. It is possible to condemn property without a blight designation. Often, however, when the government wants to take away your property, it will designate the property as “blighted.” The advantage of a blight designation (from the perspective of the government) is that once the designation is in place, the government can take property at will within the area. Most Cities refer to designating a property as blighted, but it could also be a designation of the area as an “urban renewal zone,” “redevelopment area,” or something similar.
It is very important to appear at these public hearings and object vigorously to the designation of your property as blighted. Introduce pictures of the properties and even video to show that the property is not blighted. Think of any other evidence that would show the area is thriving, including information about retail sales, lack of crime, property taxes paid, physical improvements you have made. You want to put all of that evidence into the record. It’s helpful to have pictures, video and documents—something more than just testimony, although you want that also. If you can afford it or someone will do it for free, ask an expert to do a study showing that the property is not blighted. Finally, the developer has usually commissioned a study that will claim the area is blighted. Go through it with a fine-toothed comb. Then present every inaccuracy, including as much documentation as you can that the information in the study is false.
Vote that the property or area is blighted:
Once there has been a vote that the property is blighted, you need to know your State’s law on challenging blight designations. In some states, you have 30 days to challenge the designation. In some states, you have 60 days. And in other states, you do not bring the challenge unless and until the government tries to condemn your property. Obviously, it is very important to know what category your state falls into, because you may need to bring a legal challenge very soon. Contact the city manager to find out how long you have.
Hearing on authorization of eminent domain:
In some states, this eminent domain hearing is combined with the hearing on whether the property is blighted. In other states, it is not. In any case, you obviously need to make sure you appear at the hearing and present as vocal and powerful an opposition to the authorization of eminent domain as you possibly can. Cities can authorize redevelopment projects and funding without authorizing eminent domain.
Vote that eminent domain is authorized:
As with the hearing, the vote authorizing eminent domain may or may not be combined with the vote that the property is blighted. In a few states, you will have 30 days, or some other short period of time, to challenge the authorization of eminent domain. In most states, you will challenge eminent domain if and when the city tries to take your property. However, make sure you know if you need to bring a challenge immediately.
An appraiser comes to visit:
That means that the government is going to figure out how much it thinks your property is worth and then make you an offer to purchase it. In some states, the government must give you a copy of the appraisal. In others, that is not required. In most states, you must allow the appraisal to take place. However, there are some states where you can refuse. Also, if the government has no statutory authority to condemn your property at all, you may be able to refuse to let the appraiser on your property. If you want to exclude the appraiser, it’s a good idea to consult a lawyer. Finally, in most states, you can require that the city “indemnify” you for letting the appraiser in. For example, if you own a machine shop, you may want to ask the city to release you from any liability in case the person slips or injures themselves on the visit.
“Good faith” negotiations:
The government is required to at least try to purchase the property from you voluntarily. Representatives of either the government or the developer will approach you and make you an offer to purchase your property. If you wish to, you can talk to them. These negotiations can occur at any time & may also occur sometime during the public hearings process. However most important to realize, get everything in writing, anything spoken by word of mouth can be disputed, again GET IT IN WRITING!
Government files a condemnation action against you:
You will receive a document that indicates it has been filed in court. It may be called a “notice of taking,” “statement of taking,” “statement of compensation,” or something else. However, if it indicates that it has been filed in court, this is probably the beginning of a lawsuit against you to acquire your property. It is possible but very difficult and inadvisable to defend against a lawsuit without an attorney. If you want to fight the condemnation, you should find an attorney at this point.
- Murrieta old timer.
