Op-Ed: After All These Years, The Old Kmart Property is Still Empty: The City of Bishop should investigate "eminent domain" or other legal tools to fill the vacant old Kmart property.
"I 'm from down south in Redlands. I and friends always joke how they have that massive lot taped off and guarded. That combo'd up with the abandoned strip mall across the street makes Bishop look so trashy. If I were a local business owner I'd be pissed," says one comment on the above photo posted on my personal Facebook page. It has been a blight and shame on Eastern Sierra locals for about a decade or more: an empty, taped off parking lot and strip-mall befitting more an large, urban wasteland like Los Angeles than a small, rural mountain town loved by outdoor recreationists, Bishop. Yet, the City of Bishop, in fear of "trampling" private property rights, refuses to investigate legal tools at their disposal to force the "old Kmart" property owners to fill it with an actual tenant, or sell it (perhaps to the city who could then resell or lease it out as part of much needed "economic development.") Administrator Rick Pucci, back at a 2009 Bishop City Council meeting, said that the City could do very little to force private property owners to deal with empty buildings. "Between encouraging a public good and trampling private property rights", the administrator said, "we walk a fine line."
The rumors that have persisted and have inflamed Bishop locals for years, that the old Kmart property owners or lessors are purposely keeping it empty to prevent competition, are actually true, as admitted by Administrator Pucci at that meeting, saying, "Rent is being paid on a monthly basis, but the lessee would rather have that property empty then filled." In an August 27, 2013 Sierra Wave Media article, it states, "The $27,000 a month lease by Vons has kept the former Kmart from getting into the hands of other grocery outlets that might give them competition." The proposal of using eminent domain to address the vacant old Kmart property was discussed at an Inyo County Board of Supervisors final public meeting on the proposal for a new county-lease-to-own building on the Wye Road parcel owned by Joseph Enterprises in August of last year, where the attendees agreed the County should discuss it with the City of Bishop, but that has not happened.
Eminent domain is obviously a very controversial issue, with many city and county governments abusing it for personal financial gain, but there are also success stories and justified cases. The Eastern Sierra Advocate does not by principle agree with eminent domain, with governments taking private property by force for public use or for public good (even with "just compensation") as I believe wholeheartedly in the American view of liberty, but the owners of the old Kmart property are refusing to sell and are damaging the reputation and quality of life in Bishop.
"I 'm from down south in Redlands. I and friends always joke how they have that massive lot taped off and guarded. That combo'd up with the abandoned strip mall across the street makes Bishop look so trashy. If I were a local business owner I'd be pissed," says one comment on the above photo posted on my personal Facebook page. It has been a blight and shame on Eastern Sierra locals for about a decade or more: an empty, taped off parking lot and strip-mall befitting more an large, urban wasteland like Los Angeles than a small, rural mountain town loved by outdoor recreationists, Bishop. Yet, the City of Bishop, in fear of "trampling" private property rights, refuses to investigate legal tools at their disposal to force the "old Kmart" property owners to fill it with an actual tenant, or sell it (perhaps to the city who could then resell or lease it out as part of much needed "economic development.") Administrator Rick Pucci, back at a 2009 Bishop City Council meeting, said that the City could do very little to force private property owners to deal with empty buildings. "Between encouraging a public good and trampling private property rights", the administrator said, "we walk a fine line."
The rumors that have persisted and have inflamed Bishop locals for years, that the old Kmart property owners or lessors are purposely keeping it empty to prevent competition, are actually true, as admitted by Administrator Pucci at that meeting, saying, "Rent is being paid on a monthly basis, but the lessee would rather have that property empty then filled." In an August 27, 2013 Sierra Wave Media article, it states, "The $27,000 a month lease by Vons has kept the former Kmart from getting into the hands of other grocery outlets that might give them competition." The proposal of using eminent domain to address the vacant old Kmart property was discussed at an Inyo County Board of Supervisors final public meeting on the proposal for a new county-lease-to-own building on the Wye Road parcel owned by Joseph Enterprises in August of last year, where the attendees agreed the County should discuss it with the City of Bishop, but that has not happened.
Eminent domain is obviously a very controversial issue, with many city and county governments abusing it for personal financial gain, but there are also success stories and justified cases. The Eastern Sierra Advocate does not by principle agree with eminent domain, with governments taking private property by force for public use or for public good (even with "just compensation") as I believe wholeheartedly in the American view of liberty, but the owners of the old Kmart property are refusing to sell and are damaging the reputation and quality of life in Bishop.
Great article. Please keep up the good work exposing the dark underbelly of what is most likely local corruption, in Bishop.
ReplyDelete.Thank you. Admittedly, I never looked at it that way before, I don't know if a property owner purposely keeping a property empty, especially to prevent competition, is actually illegal. It certainly sounds like it or should be. As Bishop City Administrator Rick Pucci pointed out back in 2009, as long as the property is kept up and has no code violations, then the City may not be able to move against it. Yet, as I suggested, though eminent domain laws have been reformed, and rightfully so, the City of Bishop should investigate using it or some other legal tool. I'm not sure why this is not a bigger issue with the City Council, perhaps they are afraid of losing the tax revenue if Vons quits paying the lease and not being able to recover it with a new tenant, and/or perhaps they are afraid, perhaps rightfully so, of a long, expensive court battle with the property owners, the identity of which remains a mystery, but might be the parent company of Vons, thus a large corporation with lots of lawyers and very deep pockets.
DeleteI don't know the City Council members and Mayor personally, so I would hate to make accusations, especially as they could be construed as libel and slander. This blog is all about economic development in conjunction with conservation, I am trying to avoid politics (at least politics as it concerns other issues) and controversy. But I will definitely consider any valid information a person or whistleblower brings concerning questionable ethics and actions of local political and business leaders, as that could certainly hinder the economy and quality of life in the Eastern Sierra.
-Chris Forte, Eastern Sierra Watch