Lawsuit Filed in Effort to Block Land Takeover
A company located on a site targeted for city takeover has filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in an attempt to ward off the move.
Soil and Plant Laboratory Inc., located on the site of the proposed Santa Ana Auto Mall, filed the suit this week against the city’s redevelopment agency, Charles McClung Jr., an attorney for the firm, said Wednesday.
The suit challenges the validity of contracts and agreements between the agency and automobile dealerships planning to locate on a sprawling site near Edinger Avenue and the 55 Freeway. It also questions the legality of the $21-million price the city plans to pay for the entire property and claims that the action violates California’s redevelopment law on fair market value.
Eminent domain, the procedure by which a government agency exercises its right to take over property, usually takes about 90 days. A lawsuit could stall the process indefinitely.
Most of the 44-acre site is owned by the Santa Fe land Improvement Co. The contested 30,660-square-foot parcel, owned by Oris and Dorothy Matkin, is located at 1530 and 1534 S. Trotter Ave. in the South Main Street redevelopment area.
Negotiations between the two sides are continuing. McClung said the suit was filed to protect his clients should the negotiations break down. The Matkins’ first wish is not to move, McClung said.
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