Months rushing to declare Baldwin Park blighted before last June’s vote on Prop. 98, the project’s developer has pulled out for economic reasons. From the California Alliance to Protect Private Property Rights:
Today, property owners in Baldwin Park are celebrating! For the past two years, the City of Baldwin Park was working with a controversial developer to seize over 200 homes and 300 businesses by eminent domain – an area of over 125 football fields! Their fight was widely reported during the Prop. 98 campaign, a property rights ballot measure that had it won voter approval would have protected all private property from eminent domain abuse. Unlike some other communities, these property owners are fortunate that that their homes and businesses were not demolished before the developer pulled out of the project.
“As a community, we need to work together to encourage new job creation but not at the expense of property owners. Economic revitalization does not require the use of eminent domain to seize homes and small businesses from unwilling sellers.” said Cruz Baca Sembello, of CARA, a local property owners organization. “With this ugly chapter in our city’s history over, our community can now heal and work together to improve our quality of life.”
There’s more at CAPPPR’s website and from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.