Restaurant Owner Speaks Out on Eminent Domain

BY BILL KOENEKER

One of the last hurdles to reintroduce steelhead trout into Solstice Creek is nearly overcome. The culvert under the Pacific Coast Highway bridge at Solstice Creek, which flows to the ocean, will be transformed into a fish ladder to allow the protected species to move between sea water and fresh water.
On Oct. 14 and 15, the California Transportation Commission will be asked to decide to adopt a resolution of necessity to acquire a portion of BeauRivage by eminent domain.
The property in question is along Pacific Coast Highway, but maps, charts and property descriptions have left property owner Daniel Forge scratching his head about how much of his property is actually involved and why bureaucrats cannot seemingly respond to his questions.
Forge said he has tried repeatedly to have Caltrans officials come out and show him with stakes and story poles exactly what is involved. He said that never happened to his satisfaction. “They won't commit themselves. I never saw proper drawings to show where everything will be,” he said.
He acknowledged he has been resisting their efforts also because he thinks the idea of spending millions of dollars on trout during the downturn of the economy is not quite right for taxpayers. “The trout will supposedly swim upstream. There will never be trout,” he added. “I don’t see the point of spending the taxpayers’ money.”
When Forge was asked if he was prepared to go to court if the state proceeds with eminent domain, he answered in the affirmative. “I am planning on going to court,” he said.
The restaurateur said he is only too well aware of how property owners have been treated by various state and federal agencies over what they consider fair market value and that of a jury, which sometimes awards property owners three to four times more that the feds or state.
Proponents of the steelhead project, which would allow the ocean going fish to find their way upstream once all the barriers are removed, say the concrete culvert under PCH must be altered including providing a fish ladder to allow the steelhead to find the deep, cool pools of Solstice Creek.
Eminent domain is usually considered the last straw for public agencies who prefer a willing seller, but Forge admits he is not one for the piecemeal approach taken by various public agencies over the last 31 years he has owned the property.
He talked about the various easements given over the years and he said he would be a willing seller for the entire property. “Why don’t they just buy the whole thing? This is my retirement. This is all I have and have worked for,” he said.
The law provides procedures for public agencies to acquire private property for public use. It currently requires that every agency which intends to condemn property must notify the owners of that property of its intention to condemn. State law provides that the power of eminent domain may be exercised to acquire property if three conditions are met: the public interest and necessity require the project; the project is planned or located in the manner that will be most compatible with the greatest public good; and the property sought to be acquired is necessary for the project, according to Caltrans documents.
The National Park Service, which has extensive holdings in Solstice Canyon, spent the last several years removing any barrier and dams in the creek.
Last year, the city undertook a major construction project when the bridge crossing Corral Canyon Road was replaced with a trout friendly crossing.
Forge said that was marred by hundreds of old growth trees being removed. That construction project also had presented its own set of problems, according to Forge.