City Plans to Improve Intersection at PCH and Hawthorne through use of Eminent Domain
Eminent Domain
This Tuesday the City Council will contemplate whether to initiate eminent domain proceedings in order to acquire property necessary to make improvements to the intersection at Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and Hawthorne Boulevard.
Eminent Domain is the right of the government to take private property for public use. When the government exercises their right to eminent domain they must compensate the owner of the property.
The staff report cited numerous studies that identified the intersection at PCH and Hawthorne as a deficient intersection in need of improvements. The most recent of those studies was a 2009 PCH Coastal Corridor study conducted by the South Bay Cities Council of Government (SBCCOG).
Proposed improvements to the intersection include:
- Additional left-turn lanes to provide dual left-turn lanes on both the eastbound and westbound sides of PCH;
- One exclusive right-turn pocket on both the eastbound and westbound sides of PCH;
- One exclusive right-turn lane on northbound Hawthorne Boulevard to eastbound PCH; and
- New striping/signage; traffic signal modifications; drainage improvements; utility relocations; landscaping; installation of ADA required sidewalk and curb ramps, crosswalks, as well as rehabilitation of existing pavement.
The staff report indicates that the decision to consider the use of eminent domain is not taken lightly and that they prefer to obtain needed properties through other methods. On that note, the staff report reminds the Council that they were already able to acquire 2 of the needed properties through negotiated acquisition. Those prior acquisitions displaced eight commercial tenants with the City helping to relocate all but one of them.
The property in question slated for eminent domain is at the northeast corner of PCH and Hawthorne and is part of the retail center that includes Best Buy. The City is seeking a permanent roadway easement consisting of 3,446 square feet and a temporary construction easement for nine months that encompasses 5,922 square feet.
The City offered the current owner $231,000 for the property on December 19, 2014. Despite repeated requests for a counter-offer the owner has not given any indication of what price at which it would be willing to transfer the property to the City.
Once again here in this city we have fruitcakes in Government! Since when does the Pacific Coast Hwy or Hawthorne Blvd interchange need to be upgraded? Since when does the city not recognize that there are businesses in the area who will be greatly affected by this proposed land grab for what? This isn’t making any sense at all. In fact the route North and South on Hawthorne Blvd has been working just fine for years now with new expansion and growth of income producing businesses at each corner of this proposed modification area. When is this city going to recognize that pissing off retailers is not going to fill out tax benefits because the more they do activities like this the more the word spreads about how UNFRIENDLY the City of Torrance has become with their GREED and DISREGARD for the business owner. The council on City Governments study is a sham, when all the beach communities mayors comprise this group. The City of Torrance needs to put things in perspective and ask why, what is the need, what is the value added to all the citizens of Torrance. Traffic flow is one thing but people can just start acting in a civil way when it comes to crowded conditions, and not me, me me all the time. It is time to address this issue in a SANE way, and evaluate Cost, Benefit, and Real Pay Back and Value Added to the City especially if the Best Buy and others pull the plug in Torrance and leave over this effort to rearrange their property for the benefit of the few. Enough is Enough!!! Government in Torrance should of the People, for the People and by the People. If anything this should be placed on a ballot measure and let the People decide if this is needed or not!!! Wake Up Torrance Leadership!
I use the intersection everyday, and turn onto Hawthorn from PCH regularly. During busy drive times the turn lane is not adequate for the traffic attempting to turn. That can cause the left lanes to be blocked, and results in drivers attempting to merge into the right lanes to get by. Given the speed limit on PCH, that can be dangerous. Drivers also regularly divert to other side roads, which causes additional problems.
While the use of eminent domain should not be used lightly, it appears the city has waited a considerable time without any indication that the property owner in question has any interest in negotiating an equitable sale. Considering the property in question is only “a permanent roadway easement consisting of 3,446 square feet” the scope of the damage to the property owner seems limited as well.
Then again, if this causes Starbucks to close I’m with Arthur J Plourde. Well, maybe not.