The next front in the eminent domain wars may have been opened in San Francisco this week.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors took a vote this week that is bringing the city ad county closer to a program that could lead to forcible acquisition of underwater mortgages.
The board unanimously approved a resolution that will direct the city controller to study whether San Francisco should use eminent domain to help prevent
residential foreclosures.
The city of Richmond has debated a similar policy. The idea has rankled the banking industry, which has been successful in stifling the Richmond plan, blocking a two-thirds vote on that city’s council.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “in an Oct. 6 memo, San Francisco’s controller warned that the eminent domain plan — in which cities could forcibly acquire mortgages at discounts, then help homeowners refinance into smaller, more affordable home loans — was risky and would benefit only a small number of homeowners. The resolution calls for the controller to complete the study within 75 days.”