Muzzi

Appellants, owners of a large tract of property in Marin County, appeal from a judgment in condemnation after the jury determined the value of their property to be $600,000. Respondent sought to condemn the property in connection with the construction of a ferry terminal in Larkspur.

The subject property consists of between 589 and 600 acres in the Town of Corte Madera; 369-380 acres are tidelands (submerged) and the remaining 199-220 acres lie behind dikes. Of the area behind the dikes about 60 acres are filled; the rest is low and marshy. The property is a short distance from the site of the Larkspur ferry terminal.

Appellants contend that respondent’s purpose in condemning their property was unauthorized.

The resolution of public interest and necessity regarding the subject property stated that the property was “suitable, adaptable, necessary, and required for public use” by respondent “for the placement of dredged spoils incident to the construction of the district’s Larkspur Ferry Terminal, for the implementation of recommended environmental mitigation measures, and for various transit purposes.”

The trial court in its findings of fact and conclusions of law…