California’s High Speed rail project is steadily moving forward thanks to the state Supreme Court’s refusal to hear an appeal in October from the project’s opponents, and eminent domain proceedings are underway.
The
Sacramento Business Journal reports that eminent
domain cases concerning 36 land parcels are pending in the state superior
court. These cases have been brought by the state to negotiate with property
owners whose land is necessary for construction of the first leg to begin:
“Owners
of six of those parcels have since settled with the state. Of the 30 that
remain, 10 are now pending in courthouses in Fresno and Madera counties. None
have gone to trial yet.”
This October the California
Supreme Court sided with the High Speed Rail Authority when it rejected
a request by project opponents to hear their case. The significance
of this move by the state’s highest court is that the Appeal court’s decision
to allow the project to proceed will endure. The California High Speed Rail
Authority has taken the Supreme Court’s decision to not hear the case as a
gesture of support, while opponents feel that the project proceeding in its
current form creates a dangerous precedent. This speaks to the crux of the case
against the High Speed Rail, which was based on allegations that the project
had veered too far from the initial bond measure approved by California voters.
Although there are still lawsuits pending, construction on the first leg of the
high speed rail is slated for the beginning of the year, and will be able to
continue as planned. The head of the Rail Authority, Jeff Morales, was quoted
as saying that construction on the Fresno-Bakersfield stretch will quicken
considerably as a result of the high court’s stance.
Meanwhile, residents of San Diego
are frustrated about the lack of information and concrete plans surrounding construction of the
southernmost portion of the project.
