Church Saved from Eminent Domain

Press Telegram, Long Beach, CA

An attorney for a Filipino church that had been targeted for condemnation claimed a definitive victory over the powers of eminent domain on Monday.

Although the Redevelopment Agency Board agreed to back off efforts to seize the church for an affordable housing project last month, the attorney was dissatisfied with the board's actions and continued to push for a legal guarantee against condemnation from the city.

City Attorney Bob Shannon has now issued a letter assuring efforts to take the church are no longer in play, and church attorney John Eastman went before the board on Monday to ask that the letter be introduced into the board's formal record.

"They revoked their condemnation authority," Eastman said. "This means that at least for now, the matter is over."