City using eminent domain to advance stalled 1.8 mile bikeway in La Jolla

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — San Diego city officials are eyeing construction of the next segment of an ambitious 44-mile bike trail connecting Oceanside to Santa Fe Depot in downtown.

On Monday, the San Diego City Council voted unanimously to approve a motion aimed at completing work on the separated bicycle track along a 1.8 mile segment of Gilman Drive, connecting the UC San Diego campus path with the Rose Canyon bikeway.

Completion of the the connector, which is part of the Coastal Rail Trail project, has been stalled for years over disputes between local officials and the owners of two chunks of vacant, private land east of Gillman Drive that the city would need to purchase to make the bike lane a reality.

So far the parcels' owners have been unreceptive to selling, rejecting each offer issued since 2021, when the city first reached out about the land, according to staff from the city's Economic Development Department. The final and best offer was delivered in December 2023.

Now, the city council will be taking the rare step to initiate eminent domain proceedings to compel the land's opening up for public use.

The city has been pursuing a narrow stretch of land for slope easement, totaling 81,569 square feet from the two parcels for the bike path. An additional 33,839 square feet would be used temporarily for the project's construction.

Property records show both chunks of the land have been zoned for recreational purposes and appear undeveloped.

Under the current plan, the land would be put towards expanding Gillman Drive's north-bound lanes to accommodate a raised or striped median separating cyclists from vehicular traffic. The south-bound lanes have already been widened through that corridor, according to city officials.

The work would also come with improvements to the storm water system, which would include work to failing easement structures and other storm drain work.

Four sections of land were already secured from property owners along this corridor for the project in 2021, city staff with the Economic Development Department. Two accepted based on the appraisal and two settled with the city in negotiation.

With the city now possibly turning to eminent domain for the remaining holdouts, the acquisition of the property for these improvements would be brought before a court to determine whether the city has necessity to seize the private land for public use.

Exercising the law, which is considered a last-ditch effort for the city, is specifically meant for work such as building schools, roads, libraries, fire stations and police stations.

In exchange for the land, San Diego would pay a minimum of $156,000 to the property owners, a total city staff say was determined by getting a fair market value appraisal.

During the council meeting on Monday, one of the purported property owners said this estimate fell significantly below what another appraiser determined was the cost of the land.

"Twenty years ago, I paid $98,000 for it and your latest proposal is [$135,000]," he said. "I don't think that's fair compensation … This was part of my retirement."

"It's basically forcing me to hand over my deed to the city," he continued, adding he would still be responsible for taxes and other property costs on the land. "It's a big financial hardship for my family and me."

The Gillman Corridor of the Coastal Rail Trail will be the fourth major segment of the pathway to be completed, should officials successfully be able to use eminent domain to get ahold of that stretch of privately-owned land.

The first segment running through Oceanside was completed in 2014 and is operated by the North County Transit District. The second segment, which stretches from Chesterfield Drive to Santa Fe Drive in Encinitas, was opened to the public in May 2019.

The Rose Creek Bikeway, which connects University City and Pacific Beach, was the most recent segment of the Coastal Rail Trail completed, with regional transit officials celebrating its opening in tandem with the launching of MTS' UC San Diego Blue Line Trolley.

The project is part of the wider TransNet initiative first approved by voters in 1987 to expand and improve the region's transportation network, spanning bikeway, highway and transit projects through a half-cent sales tax.