City’s Hiring of Developer’s Lawyer in Condemnation Case
Buried on Page 7 of the Orange County Edition (June 4) is a classic story of big business and government conspiring to shaft the little guy. The Times’ excuse for burying the story is probably that it had to cover the elections.
But there is no excuse at all for Anaheim, which has hired a developer’s lawyer to help condemn a portion of the Fujishige strawberry farm for access roads to a huge office/hotel complex on Katella Boulevard.
The U.S. Constitution provides governmental agencies the power of eminent domain to condemn private property for the public good. Historically, this has meant taking private land for schools, freeways and other governmental uses in order to benefit the public. This particular action, however, benefits only the developer, in this case Becker Ltd. and Alexander Ltd. of Hong Kong, and seems to me to be an unholy alliance at best.
The City Council of Anaheim should get its priorities straight and let the developers and the farmers deal with the issue in true free-enterprise fashion. The city should not help the developer steal the land from the farmer through the condemnation process for next to nothing when the land is probably worth much more money.
In addition, the council should hang its collective head in shame for hiring the attorney for the developer to assist in this travesty.
RICHARD E. LOWNES
Irvine
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