As the county prepares to contest a recent $5.5Êmillion judgment in a Santa Maria land-use dispute, it faces another multimillion-dollar lawsuit over its handling of three oceanfront properties in Isla Vista.
A Santa Barbara Superior Court judge has ruled that the Board of Supervisors violated the rights of an Isla Vista property owner when it denied his requests to build three homes on the 6800 block of Del Playa Drive in 1998.
The court found that the denials -- and 1999 acquisition of the properties by the Isla Vista Recreation and Park District for $450,000 -- constituted a "taking" by the county. The case enters the damages phase next year.
County attorneys expect to appeal the October decision, arguing that owner John Chase accepted the agreement and was fairly compensated. They assert the county did not "take" the land.
Posted by gandlwoods at December 13, 2004 08:40 AM