Use of eminent domain being seriously mulled

June Casagrande

City officials say the land isn’t worth more than $33.75 a square

foot. The owners reportedly want about $37 a square foot for the site

of two Santa Ana Heights homes.

It may take a judge to say who’s right.

The city is considering using eminent domain to take control of

land officials say they need for a new fire station. The adjacent

parcels at the corner of Mesa Drive and Acacia Street are now the

homes of Laurie Davis and her parents, Alva and Mary Spann Davis.

However, the area has been undergoing a slow conversion from a

residential to a commercial area since the county rezoned the area

for a business park.

City officials have been negotiating with the Davises since last

summer to buy the land at the price recommended by a city-hired

appraiser: $33.75 a square foot: $3.09 million for the 2.1-acre

parcel.

“We have a valid appraisal that shows the property value is about

$33.75 a square foot,” City Manager Homer Bludau said. “We made an

offer, and they came back with a counter offer of $37. We weren’t

able to reach an agreement.”

Agreement, however, isn’t imperative.

The City Council tonight could vote on whether to acquire the

property by eminent domain -- a court-enforced purchase of private

property at fair market value.

Asked whether the eminent domain move was a bluff or even a

bargaining chip in the negotiations, Bludau said, “We wouldn’t bring

an eminent domain action to City Council unless staff was very

serious about it.”

Mary Davis referred a call for comment to her daughter. Laurie

Davis did not return phone calls Friday or Monday.

City officials say that the property is the ideal site for a fire

station to serve the newly annexed Santa Ana Heights and nearby

areas. It was selected because it would allow the new fire station to

cover the largest area of the city possible within the city’s

seven-minute response time goal for fire emergencies.

Since the city annexed Santa Ana Heights last summer, it has been

providing fire service from a temporary fire station on Zenith

Avenue. The new fire station would include a separate firefighter

training facility with a tower. Under the pre-annexation agreement

with the Santa Ana Heights Redevelopment Agency, the city can use up

to $2.5 million of the redevelopment money to purchase the land. The

remaining $592,000 would come from the general fund. The

redevelopment agency will also pay for up to $1.6 million for

construction of the new fire station.

“This will fill a great hole for fire service in Santa Ana Heights

and adjacent areas in Newport,” Fire Chief Tim Riley said.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.