Silva Valley interchange update: County pursues eminent domain

El Dorado County needs approximately 12 more acres of land to begin building the Silva Valley interchange at Highway 50 between Bass Lake Road and El Dorado Hills Boulevard. Negotiations with about 15 owners of separate target parcels have not been fully successful, and the county will now begin the process of acquiring some land through eminent domain.

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors conducted a hearing Friday morning and eventually adopted a Resolution of Necessity that authorizes beginning the process. Because much of the project is within the California Department of Transportation’s jurisdiction, that state agency can authorize the county to take the action.

“Caltrans is the lead agency and they require us to do this,” District 4 Supervisor Ron Briggs explained during a phone conversation last Thursday. “We have to follow Caltrans protocol, otherwise we would just negotiate with the owners.

“Eminent domain is not very common for us. Usually we go to the ‘willing owner as a willing buyer,’” he continued.

Briggs further said the county had “come to terms with 10 or so owners of other related parcels, but there’s one we just can’t find.” The parcels are not uniform in size and slices and pieces of them have to be considered in the overall action, he added.

Board documents note that the “subject property” is part of a block of 52 acres owned by a company called EDH 52, “a California general partnership whose general partner is Angelo T. Tsakopoulos.”

In May 2012 the county offered EDH 52 $468,600 for the parcel based on figures developed by the county’s appraisal consulting firm.

“After several months of discussions and communications, a settlement was not reached and the county must now move forward with the proposed Resolution of Necessity in order to commence eminent domain proceedings,” ...

http://www.villagelife.com/news/silva-valley-interchange-update-county-pursues-eminent-domain/