Jefferson Street Ventures, LLC v. City of Indio

Jefferson Street Ventures, LLC (Jefferson), appeals from a judgment in favor of the City of Indio (the City) in this combined petition for writ of administrative mandamus and inverse condemnation action. In 2007, the City conditioned approval of Jefferson’s 2005 application for development of a shopping center upon Jefferson leaving approximately one-third of its property undeveloped to accommodate the reconstruction of a major freeway interchange that was in the planning stages. The City intended to eventually acquire the development-restricted property through either eminent domain or negotiated purchase. But it could not acquire the property at the time Jefferson’s development application was approved due to funding constraints imposed by the byzantine planning and review process for the interchange that involved various local, state, and federal agencies, and which the City did not anticipate being complete for at least a few more years — as it turned out it was almost seven. When Jefferson’s development application was being approved, City staff explained the City could not allow development on the part of the site designated for the interchange because the City…