Rail board cleared to seize 8 more properties
“The agency overseeing California’s high-speed rail project won permission Friday from a separate state board to begin eminent domain proceedings against eight properties in Fresno that are needed to build the line’s initial segment.
Three of the eight properties are businesses, while five are vacant lots or vacant buildings, said California High-Speed Rail Authority spokeswoman Lisa Marie Alley.
The rail authority must acquire 381 Central Valley properties to build the initial 21-mile segment. It now has permission from the state Board of Public Works to seize a total of 10 properties and has contracts to buy another 47.
It has submitted written offers on 166 and is in the process of negotiating terms with the remaining property owners.
An opponent said it is premature for the state to seize the properties because it is uncertain whether the bullet train project can clear several legal hurdles to begin construction.”
Thompson, Don. San Jose Mercury News 14 March 2014.