Fresno, CA

Donald Trump, the world-famous mogul, first expressed interest in the Running Horse Project in June. Running Horse consists of 420 acres slated to become a PGA golf course and contain 780 high-end houses. Only two holes have been completed. The previous owner ran out of money and sold it to Mike Evans in March, who filed for bankruptcy protection.

The Trump Organization has 13 requests concerning purchasing Running Horse. Three of the requests concern property around the project:

• Remove all internal houses- buy out the holdouts at “fair market value.”
• Buy out and re-zone entire area around course.
• Establish a one (1) mile perimeter around the property to be classified as a redevelopment
zone.

The trouble with Trump’s requests is that the area around Running Horse is not zoned for redevelopment. The Williamson Act of 1965 allowed private landowners to enter into contracts with local governments in order to restrict “specific parcels of land to agricultural or related open space use,” according to California’s Division of Land Resource Protection. (http://www.consrv.ca.gov/DLRP/lca/index.htm)

The area would have to be designated as a redevelopment zone in order for the city to use eminent domain to seize the land around the project from private landowners. Basically, the Williamson Act would have to be amended.

The Supreme Court set a precedent in 2005 by ruling the local government could use eminent domain to seize private property in New London, CT for economic development. The Court found that “Promoting economic development is a traditional and long accepted governmental function.” The Court rejected the plaintiff’s argument that “economic development does not quality as a public use,” and a “reasonable certainty” be required that the public would benefit from the planned redevelopment.