San Joaquin Valley Rail Project Sacramento Extension and the Power of Eminent Domain
The San Joaquin Regional Rails Commission (SJRRC) and the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (SJJPA) are joining together to undertake the Valley Rail Sacramento Extension Project. This project would extend the Valley Rail from Downtown Stockton up to North Natomas with six stations in between: Lodi, Elk Grove, Sacramento City College, Midtown, Old North Sacramento, and Natomas, with a shuttle going from Natomas to the Sacramento airport. Given what we know so far about the project, it is clear that the purchase or taking of private property will be necessary for the project as proposed to be completed. Thus, one or both entities will need to (1) have the power of eminent domain and (2) use that power to take the property either under the threat of condemnation or through the formal eminent domain procedure.
The purposes of the Valley Rail extension are to increase connectivity between the Central Valley and Bay Area, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by converting to renewable diesel fuel, to expand ridership, to improve public health by reducing harmful gases and toxins, to benefit disadvantaged communities throughout the Central Valley, and to improve safety and reduce rail-related accidents. Those may be worthy purposes, but the agencies will have to weigh those purposes with the impacts caused to private property owners who own property in the path of the rail extension project. The agencies should not lose sight of the fact that they will need to use the power of eminent domain to condemn certain properties along the route.
The Valley Rail Project is currently still in the environmental and preliminary engineering phase, which is estimated to be completed in early 2020. To accelerate the process, SJRRC held three public scoping meetings in October to enable the public to ask questions, get more information, and comment on the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) regarding the project. Several agencies also submitted detailed written comments, including the Department of Transportation, the Central Valley Flood Protection Board, and the Native American Heritage Commission. These comments can be located on the California Environmental Quality Act’s website.
The SJJPA held another board meeting on November 22, 2019 to hear updates on the project status. The meeting was held in Merced, but the SJJPA offered call-in locations in Lodi and Oakland.
The Sacramento Extension is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2021 or early 2022.
For more information on how this rail project may affect you, visit https://sjjpa.com/valley-rail/
Image Courtesy of ACE Rail Website