Stamper

Concurring and Dissenting.—Neither the federal nor the state Constitution bars the government from taking private property to further a legitimate public purpose, so long as the property owner receives just compensation. (U.S. Const., 5th Amend.; Cal. Const., art. I, § 19, subd. (a).) At issue in this case are the rules for calculating precisely what compensation is just.

Under California law, the proper measure of compensation when the government takes private property “is the fair market value of the property taken.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 1263.310.) The fair market value, in turn, reflects the price that an informed but disinterested buyer would negotiate with a similarly positioned seller on the date of valuation, each with full knowledge of the property’s highest and best use. (Id., § 1263.320, subd. (a); see City of San Diego v. Neumann (1993) 6 Cal.4th 738, 744 [ 25 Cal.Rptr.2d 480 , 863 P.2d 725 ].) The knowledge imputed to the parties in this hypothetical negotiation consists of “ ‘all the facts which would naturally affect [the property’s] value’ ” and “ ‘ “which enter into the value of the land in the public and general estimation, and tend[] ... to influence the minds of…

The City of Perris (the City) is located 70 miles east of Los Angeles. This case involves the City’s condemnation of a 1.66-acre strip of defendants’ property in order to build a road. By taking the strip, the City has divided the property into two irregularly shaped parcels. The City claimed that defendants would have been required to dedicate the strip to the City, with no compensation, had they sought to put the property to its highest and best use, i.e., light industrial development. The City thus offered to pay defendants the agricultural (undeveloped) value of the strip, relying on City of Porterville v. Young (1987) 195 Cal.App.3d 1260 [ 241 Cal.Rptr. 349 ] (Porterville). Porterville held that when a city takes a portion of undeveloped property, which it would have lawfully required the owner to dedicate to the city as a condition of developing the remainder of the property, the owner is entitled to compensation based on the undeveloped state of the property rather than its highest and best use. (Id. at pp. 1265-1269.)

The trial court agreed with the City that Porterville applies here and that defendants were entitled to a stipulated agricultural value of $44,000…

Filed 8/15/

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA

CITY OF PERRIS, )

) Plaintiff and Respondent, ) ) S213468 v. ) ) Ct.App. 4/2 E053395 RICHARD C. STAMPER et al., ) ) Riverside County Defendants and Appellants. ) Super. Ct. No. RIC524291 ____________________________________)

The City of Perris (the City) is located 70 miles east of Los Angeles. This case involves the City‘s condemnation of a 1.66-acre strip of defendants‘ property in order to build a road. By taking the strip, the City has divided the property into two irregularly shaped parcels. The City claimed that defendants would have been required to dedicate the strip to the City, with no compensation, had they sought to put the property to its highest and best use, i.e., light industrial development. The City thus offered to pay defendants the agricultural (undeveloped) value of the strip, relying on City of Porterville v. Young (1987) 195 Cal.App.3d 1260 (Porterville).) Porterville held that when a city takes a portion of undeveloped property, which it would have lawfully…