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City of Santa Ana <br />November 25, 2020 <br />Page 2 <br />been taken from him."People ex rel Dep't Pub. Works v. Lynbar, Inc.(1967) 253 Cal.App.2d <br />870, 880. <br />In this instance, theCity's pre-condemnation offer is invalid insofar as it was based on an <br />artificially low valuation of the property interests to be acquired from the Subject Property. The <br />City's offer, dated July 9, 2020, was for the amount of $354,000.But there are several <br />inadequacies in that offer. <br />First, the offer is woefully inadequate in recognizing the curative measuresthat must be made to <br />the Subject Property to mitigate damages caused by the Project. The only "cost to cure" <br />element in the City's offer is for the restriping of the parking lot at a cost of $13,225. Wells <br />Fargo and the City have been working together for several years now regarding what curative <br />measures are necessary, and through this process the City is aware that there are far more <br />curative measures required. For example,because the Project entails the permanent closure of <br />the driveway on Warner Avenueclosest to the intersection, the Drive-Through ATMs will need <br />to be relocated to another portion of the Subject Property.This is necessary because currently <br />theDrive-Through ATMs are located in a manner such that vehicles using those Drive-Through <br />ATMs exit the Subject Property via the driveway that will be permanently closed and will have <br />no safe way to exit unless those Drive-Through ATMs are relocated.Relatedly, the canopies <br />covering the Drive-Through ATMs will need to be relocated.Further, hardscaping and <br />landscaping will need to be done as part of this redesign, the cost of which have not been <br />included in the City's offer. <br />Still another large omission from the City's offer is the cost associated with the relocation of the <br />electrical transformer that is necessitated by the Project.Southern California Edison will do this <br />relocation work, and has informed Wells Fargo that it, as owner of the Subject Property, must <br />contract with and pay Southern California Edison for the cost of this transformer relocation.The <br />cost related to the relocation of the transformer is clearly caused by the Project, yet the City's <br />offer does not reflect any compensation for this cost.Wells Fargo has brought this issue to the <br />attention of the City, but the City has not increased its offer to account for this additional cost. <br />2.The City Failed To Make All Reasonable Efforts To Acquire The Subject Property <br />Pursuant To Government Code Section 7267.1. <br />Government Code section 7267.1 imposes an affirmative obligation on a public entity seeking to <br />condemn property to seek to acquire that property first by negotiation. Johnston v. Sonoma <br />County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space Dist.(2002) 100 Cal.App.4th 973, 988."The <br />public entity shall make every reasonable effort to acquire expeditiously real property by <br />negotiation."(Gov. Code, § 7267.1, subd. (a).) The duty to negotiate is designed to avoid <br />litigation. <br />"In order to encourage and expedite the acquisition of real property by <br />agreements with owners, to avoid litigation and relieve congestion in the courts, <br />to assure consistent treatment forowners in the public programs, and to promote <br />public confidence in public land acquisition practices, public entities shall, to the <br /> <br />