Eminent domain debate not over yet
City manager recaps intent
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

Sympathizing that downtown residents feared they may lose their homes if the Moorpark Redevelopment Agency had the right to use eminent domain, City Manager Steve Kueny recapped that the city never intended to forcibly acquire homes.

The goal of the city has always been to protect and improve existing neighborhoods. The city never planned to change zoning and take homes in downtown Moorpark, he said.

"The council has consistently by its actions and by its words demonstrated that it wants to protect residential neighborhoods, not only downtown but in the entire city," Kueny said.

The city spent half-a-million dollars eight years ago to redo all the alleys in the Second Street area and it has been making other road improvements in nearby residential areas.

"Why would they do that if they were going to use eminent domain?" Kueny asked.

The ultimate goal of the City Council is to bring commercial and retail back to High Street, said Kueny acknowledging that some acquisitions are needed to complete certain redevelopment projects.

Thus far, the agency has acquired properties from willing sellers through negotiations, but the inability to use eminent domain for redevelopment potentially could slow down a project or cause a project to be abandoned, said Kueny.

To accomplish planned projects in downtown, the agency may need to acquire somewhere between eight and 12 parcels, he said.

"We always hope negotiations will work but if not, the right to use eminent domain could have helped as a last resort," Kueny said.

"It's not about building malls; we're trying to restore High Street. It took many years to go down and it will take years to build back up," Kueny said.

The agency is not a developer, it is only trying to assist the private sector to do thing they may not otherwise be able to. "It's always the intent that public investment will spur private investment," said Kueny.

The city purchased a large property at the South side of High Street and now it is finalizing a development agreement with, selling the land to a private developer who will construct a new commercial development that will include retail, restaurants, shops and officials. The project, which will be reviewed by the council on Oct. 17, will encompass the whole area between the Metrolink train station and Moorpark Avenue and it will help to revitalize the entire area.

That property has been owned by the city since 1990 but there hasn't been much interest in it until now, Kueny explained.

At the meeting last week, residents were convinced that the city was going to condemn all the homes on Walnut Canyon but that was never the intention because it's a residential area, Kueny said.

The city acquired two lots from willing sellers about two months ago and it is in escrow to purchase two additional properties. These blighted houses will be demolished and new affordable will be constructed in their place, said Kueny.

The city also is working on several other affordable housing projects in downtown Moorpark and officials encourage property owners to participate in the effort to beautify and revitalize the area.

Many blighted properties are not owner occupied, so it's harder to convince absentee landlords to improve properties, said Kueny.

Redevelopment may be more costly to taxpayers without eminent domain, said Assistant City Manager Hugh Riley. The city can't use eminent domain to make economic or housing improvements, but it still can use the authority to acquire right-of-way to widen roads and build public facilities, Riley said.