By KEVIN M. KIRBY
The most notable legislative measure coming to the ballot this November that will affect development in the John Wayne Airport area is Measure X, dubbed “Greenlight II.”
But Newport Beach voters also will pass judgment on Measure W, which would amend the city charter to prohibit the City Council and city agencies from exercising the power of eminent domain “for the sole purpose of transferring the property to another person to further private economic development.”
The practical result of Measure W will be to limit the City Council’s ability to even consider the use of condemnation to acquire and transfer private property.
For many concerned airport area residents and business owners, this seems like a counter-intuitive prior restraint to place upon future city councils, particularly when condemnation authority already is strictly regulated under California’s Community Redevelopment Law.
At the same time, the future development of John Wayne Airport is the subject of an intense, ongoing public debate.
Because Measure W would prevent any city council from ever exercising the power of eminent domain to remedy any economic problem, the airport area arguably will be one of the most impacted. Measure W will foreclose additional means that our elected officials could have to remedy the foreseeable economic problems that may arise out of any proposed expansion and/or redevelopment of John Wayne Airport in the next 10 years.
Despite the contention that Measure W is a necessary legislative measure to “protect” the residents of Newport Beach from the Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London, it is important for both sides to acknowledge that Kelo’s holding simply establishes a “baseline” federal standard for the use of eminent domain to effectuate economic redevelopment. California already has significantly more stringent requirements and statutory protections against the arbitrary use of eminent domain.
Consequently, the residents of Newport Beach must carefully consider if Measure W is truly a necessary legislative reform to “protect your home from eminent domain abuse,” particularly given that a recent survey by the California Redevelopment Association revealed that statewide only three owner-occupied homes were acquired via formal eminent domain proceedings in the past five years.
As with comparable initiatives coming to the state ballot this November purporting to “protect” residents from condemnation, Newport Beach voters must dispassionately weigh the gravity of the alleged risk of eminent domain “abuse” against the foreseeable harm that will result from limiting future City Councils to remedy economic problems that may result from the proposed expansion of John Wayne Airport.
Kirby is an associate in the Newport Beach office of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.
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