LAKEPORT, Calif. – The county is moving forward with beginning proceedings to acquire easements for a Clearlake sewer force main project by eminent domain.
Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation Board of Directors, county supervisors on Tuesday morning voted 4-0 – with Supervisor Denise Rushing absent – to accept a resolution declaring the public necessity for taking and condemning property easements for the 4.9-mile project, which is meant to improve the Southeast Regional Wastewater and Collection System.
At the same time, the board approved filing a suit of condemnation to gain easements on the two properties.
Lacosan is seeking 350 lineal feet that runs behind a supermarket and adjacent to existing easements on one of the properties, and 1,300 lineal feet along the property line of the second.
County Counsel Anita Grant said at the meeting that the impact on the owners’ use of the property should be minimal.
The owners cannot, however, place a building in the easement area without Lacosan’s permission, and must keep landscaping 5 feet from either side of the pipeline area.
Neither of the property owners in question were at the meeting.
Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger told Lake County News after the meeting that the county has made purchase offers for the easements based on fair market value, which was reached by an independent appraisal.
However, the owners have turned down the offers, which they don’t feel are high enough, according to Dellinger.
“We can’t be accused of making a gift of public funds,” Dellinger said, which would be the case if the county paid above fair market value.
Dellinger hasn’t released the offer amounts due to concerns about the impact on negotiations.
Grant said following the meeting that the process now moves to the courts, where her staff will file an eminent domain case which will be served on the property owners.
During the process, the county will make a deposit on the fair market amount it’s offering to pay on the property, will seek an order of possession and go through a pretrial process that will include exchange of appraisal reports and settlement offers, she said.
She said it’s possible that the case could even go to a jury to determine fair market value.
It could end up being a battle between values given by appraisers. “Oftentimes, property value comes down to just that,” Grant said.
She said Lacosan’s obligation is to pay fair market value. “There’s no desire to pay the property owner less than he or she is entitled to.”
Grant said it’s hard to know how long the process could take, offering a rough estimate of as long as three months.
County officials have largely steered away from pursuing eminent domain.
While the county has done resolutions of necessity before, it’s been a long time since it’s gone all the way through the courts. Grant said she couldn’t remember the last time it happened.
Grant said, that, hopefully, the current cases will be settled before needing to go through the full process.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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