New developer to join shopping center renewal

Posted on Thu, Jun. 23, 2005
San Jose Mercury News

A new developer plans to take over part of the redevelopment of Hacienda Gardens Shopping Center in the Cambrian Park neighborhood.

Toll Brothers, a home builder with headquarters in Horsham, Pa., will take the block north of Foxworthy Avenue, said Tona Duncanson, chief of staff for San Jose City Councilwoman Judy Chirco.

A community meeting on the change will be held Tuesday at Kirk Community Center, 1601 Foxworthy Ave., San Jose.

The redevelopment of Hacienda Gardens -- a supermarket-anchored retail center surrounded by single-family houses -- has been in the works for around five years.

Neighbors opposed plans to replace shops with housing, and especially disliked developer KT Properties' plans to build apartments rather than condominiums.

The entry of Toll Brothers could ease some tension. Like KT Properties, Toll Brothers plans to build 244 units in buildings of as many as three floors, but the units are expected to be condos rather than rentals, Duncanson said.

She added that plans show townhouses around the perimeter of the site with one-, two- and three-bedroom flats in the middle. The townhouses will have two-car garages, and underground parking will be provided for condo residents.

The changes require approval by San Jose's planning director, unless his decision is appealed to the city's planning commission.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/11964534.htm

High-rise condo tower moves ahead in San Jose

Lynn Graebner
June 24, 2005

A Chicago developer plans to build a $110 million, 21-story condo project in the South of First Street area of downtown San Jose.

A development agreement has been inked between the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, which owns the land, and Mesa Development LLC.

The 208-unit project could be one of the first true high-rise condominiums in downtown, but it won't be the last. Eight more high-rise residential projects are on the books for downtown.

"We did a lot of market studies and analysis," says John Weis, deputy executive director of the Redevelopment Agency. "We feel there is pretty deep demand."

He says the last condos to sell downtown, units in the Park Townsend project, were going for between $375,000 and $400,000. Mesa's development will go for considerably higher prices, given the views it will offer and other amenities like concierge service.

Mesa isn't worried about selling the condos for an estimated $625,000 in 2008 when they hope to hammer in the last nail, says Richard Shields, one of three owners of Mesa. "We're hoping to set a new high water mark."

Of the four developers who responded to the agency's request for qualifications a year ago, Mesa was the only one who offered a high-rise project and who had experience with that type of construction, Mr. Weis says. Mesa is no stranger to such projects. It has built them in Wisconsin, has one going into Indianapolis and is working on a 56-story project in Chicago.

If Mesa can get a building permit before June 30 of 2006, the city will waive the requirement that a certain percentage of the development be sold as affordable housing. It's an incentive program the San Jose City Council voted in a year ago to get high-rise developers interested in downtown, Mr. Weis says.

The agency owns the site and will sell it or $10 million to Mesa. The 1.1-acre parcel is at the northeast corner of South Market and San Salvador streets sits across the street from the entrance to the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. The agency bought it in 2001 as a staging area for reconstruction of the Fox Theatre.

Mesa won't need height approval from the Federal Aviation Administration because the development will be lower than the neighboring Marriott hotel, Mr. Weis says.

Mr. Shields figures with the cultural attractions downtown, the entertainment and parks, it won't be difficult getting more residents to buy homes there.

"Anything you can do to put feet on the sidewalks and lights in the windows will be good for downtown," he says.

http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2005/06/27/story5.html

Hands off My Home Campaign

Washington, D.C.—The Institute for Justice and its grassroots group, the Castle Coalition, seeks to do what the U.S. Supreme Court refused to do last week when it issued its ruling in the Kelo case allowing eminent domain for private development: protect ordinary homeowners and small businesses from eminent domain abuse.

Through IJ’s Castle Coalition—a nationwide network of citizen activists determined to stop the abuse of eminent domain in their communities—the Institute for Justice today announced the “Hands Off My Home” campaign to give ordinary citizens the means to protect their homes from government-forced takings for private development. The Institute also made an initial commitment of $3 million to fund the national effort to combat eminent domain at the state and local level. IJ made the announcement less than one week after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Kelo decision allowing governments to take property from the rightful owner only to hand it over to another private party for his or her private gain.

"The floodgates to eminent domain abuse are already opening in the wake of the Supreme Court’s dreadful Kelo decision,” said Scott Bullock, senior attorney for the Institute for Justice. “The Hands Off My Home campaign will empower ordinary Americans to fight back against eminent domain abuse and to stop this un-American alliance between tax-hungry politicians and land-hungry developers.”

“The American people are furious about this decision, but they can do something about it,” said Dana Berliner, an IJ senior attorney. “In this next year, the Castle Coalition will encourage and coordinate grassroots efforts to end eminent domain abuse in states and cities. At the same time, the Institute for Justice will ask state courts to enforce their state constitutional limits on the use of eminent domain for private development. And the next time we get to the Supreme Court, it will overturn the Kelo precedent.”

“One would be hard-pressed to think of a recent Supreme Court decision that has generated such widespread and virtually unanimous outrage,” said Chip Mellor, the president and co-founder of the Institute for Justice. “We will take this energy and put it toward productive activism.”

As part of their Hands Off My Home campaign, the Institute for Justice and the Castle Coalition’s immediate plans are to:

Pursue state-level litigation to enforce the “public use” limitations found in every state constitution.
Today issue a formal pledge for governors in each state to sign promising to oppose efforts in their states to use the government power of eminent domain for private development, and to support legislation and other efforts to ensure that citizens of their state are safe from eminent domain for private development. IJ and the Castle Coalition will soon extend this pledge to legislators and city officials nationwide.
Support citizen activists nationwide who are urging their state and local officials to set stricter standards for the use of eminent domain.
Establish a Castle Coalition presence in every state so ordinary citizens will be poised to mobilize the minute eminent domain is abused for private ends. Citizens can join the Castle Coalition at www.castlecoalition.org.
Host a conference in July in Washington, D.C., to train activists in fighting unjust takings.
Bullock said, “We’ll be working across the country, but we’re not giving up on New London, Conn. On July 5 at 6 p.m., there will be a rally at the New London Town Hall to ask the City Council to save these homes and allow Susette Kelo, the Dery family and the rest of the homeowners to stay in Fort Trumbull. The City and the New London Development Corporation don’t need these homes to accomplish their private development projects, and we will ask them to finally do the right thing and let these people stay in the homes they know and love.”

Steven Anderson, the coordinator of the Castle Coalition, said, “Many cities held off on eminent domain actions, waiting for the Supreme Court to decide Kelo. Now, with a thumbs-up from the Court, these cities can be expected to move aggressively. Some already have. But IJ will be there every step of the way to stop eminent domain abuse.”

Among many such examples of this trend, Anderson cited officials in Freeport, Texas, who immediately began legal filings to seize small businesses to make way for a private boat marina.

Among the small property owners who addressed the press conference was Scott Mahan from Ardmore, Penn., who may lose his small business to government-forced redevelopment. Mahan said, “Anyone who owns a piece of property anywhere in this country is at risk after the Kelo decision. Now people are finally seeing that this isn’t just homeowners in New London, Connecticut, or business owners in Ardmore, Pennsylvania; it can happen to anyone, anywhere.”

Denise Hoagland, a homeowner from Long Branch, N.J., who is fighting to save her ocean-front home from a private development project that would replace her home with upscale condominiums, spoke for many homeowners nationwide who are fighting this kind of abuse when she said, “My home is a part of me, a part of my family, and we are part of a community. Owning a home is the American Dream and to have it forcibly taken away to benefit someone else is against all of the principles of what being an American is about.”

http://www.ij.org/private_property/castle/6_29_05pr.html

Proposed Hotel Site

Press Release from Freestar Media

Weare, New Hampshire (PRWEB) Could a hotel be built on the land owned by Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter? A new ruling by the Supreme Court which was supported by Justice Souter himself itself might allow it. A private developer is seeking to use this very law to build a hotel on Souter's land.

Justice Souter's vote in the "Kelo vs. City of New London" decision allows city governments to take land from one private owner and give it to another if the government will generate greater tax revenue or other economic benefits when the land is developed by the new owner.

On Monday June 27, Logan Darrow Clements, faxed a request to Chip Meany the code enforcement officer of the Towne of Weare, New Hampshire seeking to start the application process to build a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road. This is the present location of Mr. Souter's home.

Clements, CEO of Freestar Media, LLC, points out that the City of Weare will certainly gain greater tax revenue and economic benefits with a hotel on 34 Cilley Hill Road than allowing Mr. Souter to own the land.

The proposed development, called "The Lost Liberty Hotel" will feature the "Just Desserts Café" and include a museum, open to the public, featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America. Instead of a Gideon's Bible each guest will receive a free copy of Ayn Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged."

Clements indicated that the hotel must be built on this particular piece of land because it is a unique site being the home of someone largely responsible for destroying property rights for all Americans.

"This is not a prank" said Clements, "The Towne of Weare has five people on the Board of Selectmen. If three of them vote to use the power of eminent domain to take this land from Mr. Souter we can begin our hotel development."

Clements' plan is to raise investment capital from wealthy pro-liberty investors and draw up architectural plans. These plans would then be used to raise investment capital for the project. Clements hopes that regular customers of the hotel might include supporters of the Institute For Justice and participants in the Free State Project among others.

# # #

Logan Darrow Clements
Freestar Media, LLC

Phone 310-593-4843
logan@freestarmedia.com
http://www.freestarmedia.com

http://www.freenation.tv/hotellostliberty2.html

Supreme Court Decision

Are you the owner of a single family home? Or do you own a small business? If so beware. Based on the Supreme Court decision today you don't, you are only using it until the government decides that they can put it to better use. Below is an article discussing the Supreme Court's decision to allow government to take private property for private development.

Supreme Court Rules Cities May Seize Homes

WashingtonPost.com - Justices Affirm Property Seizures

Homeowners Lose Eminent Domain Case

Read the Supreme Court Decision

Eminent Domain - A Big Box Bonanza?

Don't Like the Supreme Court Decision.....

Senator Tom McClintock released the following statement on the United States Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London, Connecticut.

McClintock to introduce an amendment to the
California Constitution to restore the original meaning
of the property protections in the Bill of Rights

"Today the U.S. Supreme Court broke the social compact by striking down one of Americans' most fundamental rights. Their decision nullifies the Constitution's Public Use clause and opens an era when the rich and powerful may use government to seize the property of ordinary citizens for private gain."

"The responsibility now falls on the various states to reassert and restore the property rights of their citizens. I am today announcing my intention to introduce an amendment to the California Constitution to restore the original meaning of the property protections in the Bill of Rights. This amendment will require that the government must either own the property it seizes through eminent domain or guarantee the public the legal right to use the property. In addition, it will require that such property must be restored to the original owner or his rightful successor, if the government ceased to use it for the purpose of the eminent domain action."

www.tommcclintock.com