The voices of reason opposing Newport Beach's use of eminent domain to acquire the Tennis Club property at Newport Beach Country Club grow louder.In his December 16 "On The Town" column (here), Daily Pilot columnist Steve Smith calls the specter of the City's use of eminent domain to convert the Tennis Club into a new City Hall facility "unsettling."
And Smith also offers that the City's appraisal of the Tennis Club property - which is not for sale - "less than two weeks after Newport Beach residents voted decidedly against the general principle of eminent domain is frightening."
The City's appraisal action also has Smith wondering "why Measure W, the eminent domain vote, was placed on the ballot in the first place if there was no intention of following the voice of the people after the results were tabulated."
Smith gets it. Measure W's resounding approval was more than just a vote to significantly limit the City's use of eminent domain, we believe it was also a repudiation of the concept of eminent domain in principle.
The Tennis Club at Newport Beach Country Club is not the right site for a new City Hall. It would destroy a valuable social and recreational asset in our community, cost the taxpayers in excess of $100 million, and prevent the planned improvements of the Golf Club and the Tennis Club facilities at Newport Beach Country Club.
No comments:
Post a Comment