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San Luis Obispo City files eminent domain lawsuit

October 19, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

The city of San Luis Obispo wants a section of a property, which includes part of a commercial parking lot, to construct a roundabout to alleviate congestion and improve safety near the Cal Poly campus.

City staff had attempted to work with the property owners, which included making financial offers. After failing to make an agreement with the owners of 578 California Boulevard, the city filed an eminent domain lawsuit on Oct. 10.

The lawsuit also seeks a construction easement and a temporary access easement.

In order to construct a roundabout at the intersection of California Boulevard and Taft Street, the city needs to squire an approximate 2,182 square foot portion of 578 California Boulevard.

The lawsuit asks the court to determine compensation needed for the city to acquire the property and easements from the property owners – Kirit and Gita Patel.

On Sept. 21, the SLO City Council voted 5-0 to allow eminent domain proceedings against property owners refusing to work with the city. By building a roundabout, the city seeks to reduce collisions and improve walkability in the heavily used corridor near Cal Poly.

 


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The only reason traffic circles are put in, is because they work. The residents were up in arms in Morro Bay. Page after page of comments about how bad the world has become. Big Yellow Taxi etc. I go there and now that the Roundabout is a normal everyday occurrence, it’s smooth sailing.

Imminent domain, THATS interesting. If it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t have freeways or highways throughout our entire nation. I know of a place that widen the highway and they bought up all the homes that were in the way it was in another state, of course, and then the people could buy their home back for a dollar and have it moved to a new piece of land. This is a little different, but there’s always some creative ways to a piece people and embrace progress because when Calpoly gets a $10 million or $25 million endowment, instead of helping people pay off their education, they take that money, expand their footprint and then charge more tuition because they have a larger footprint and it’s more “banged” for your buck.


0

Roundabout abuse has to be stopped immediately.


13

If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.


7

In this case it might make it easier for cars to enter and exit that parking lot, I’m assuming they want to build it at Taft and California…


5

This is so unjust. The city will pay far too little for this property because it is just a parking lot. Then the next day they will likely send out code enforcement to close the business because they don’t have enough parking. Parking might be more valuable than the building. I see only two ways that the city can make this property owner whole again. One is to create parking equivalent to that “taken” by some other means. Maybe a small parking structure. Anything less is a taking of the entire property, and “just compensation” should reflect that, including reimbursement for any taxes, fees, and other expenses resulting from the sale of the land.


18

What will the consequences be for the neighboring properties with essentially centrifuge frontage? I, yi, yi


17

This is a small shopping center housing a number of small businesses. The parking is scarce already. Seizing any portion hurts these businesses and seizing the entire center puts many families out of but, but hey, every other city has roundabouts. Who cares if a bunch of small businesses are destroyed?


34

If I recall the street plan, the South side of Taft is not compromised. The 7-eleven/North side corner certainly is, and the owners of that store (and the laundromat) are the ones losing their property to legalized government theft.


A simple 4-way stop would do just the same, albeit slightly slower, as a roundabout, without stealing anyone’s property, and certainly saving the city’s already compromised budget millions of dollars in construction costs, fees, and many months of traffic delays and detours.


A 4-way works just fine in the Costco parking lot, with, arguably, a much larger daily traffic volume which includes work and delivery trucks and trailers of all sizes.


25

The government stealing private property for a dumb project. Roundabouts are a pain.


38

Roundabouts facilitate traffic flow and are wonderful when everyone knows how to use them, never stopping at one. The addition of yield signs might help this be understood.


-32

Given the age of the drivers in that area, they can be impatient at times. I really don’t see a traffic circle making that intersection any better than what it is.

With the amount of traffic that’s going on and off the highway and people up and down California boulevard you can’t keep all those cars moving without somebody waiting in line to get around the circle.

Just look what happens at Orcutt and Tank Farm when traffic is heavy, you still end up waiting in line like there’s a stop sign there.

There’s a good chance it’ll just push traffic off of that road onto Santa Rosa Street that is already impacted with backed up traffic.


15

Is this about efficiency, or a shift in “culture”??? And yes, I’ve used roundabouts, here and 8,000 miles from here. Personally, I’ll take traffic lights. Roundabouts, one step forward, two steps back….


11

I think roundabouts are fun at times, but this city absolutely is nuts for them, and I think using eminent domain here is abusive. And I agree about the potential for long waits if traffic is heavy, similar to stop signs.


5

Government defined:

A collection of potentates and dictators

with a monopoly on the use of force in a geographic area.


4

Put in traffic lights!


47

That would cost more money, create more traffic, and be less safe


-26

Less safe how?


11

A traffic light? On what basis would you want to see a signal light installed at that intersection?


8

It’s a T intersection.


Taft shows red, California moves. California shows red, Taft moves left and right. Left onto Taft from California gets it’s own timer.


The “basis” is really not all difficult to understand. It’s also not hard to understand the cost difference.


18

LOL…at a signalized intersection, someone will be unnecessarily delayed at a red light. The same goes for stops signs. Just look at the Tank Farm and Orcutt Rd roundabout. That stop sign delay was a commuter’s nightmare. Roundabouts are also safer in terms of accidents (frequency and severity). Can’t argue about the cost in this instance though, having to acquire ROW does chance things.


8

When traffic circles get busy, heavy commute times someone is always waiting and sometimes it can be longer than you’d expect.

I try not to use them when I don’t have to.When the intersection gets busy people don’t wait their turn they cut you off. I’ve almost got hit and I was singling that I was continuing left off Tank Farm heading for Johnson a truck almost t-boned me,I had my signal on I was going left

Then there was an accident right as you enter from Tank Farm close to whole intersection down so I had to backtrack all the way around to get over to Johnson. Didn’t know at the time that you can use Tiburon that cuts through the housing development there and gets you on to the other side of Orcutt to head towards Johnson now I know.

I can only imagine the accidents that will happen at the traffic circle there at Taft and California, people get impatient either running late to work, school or an appointment. They should put up stop signs,they work wonders and the businesses won’t have their property taken away by the Cty.


6