A northern California transit agency has voted to use its power of eminent domain to displace three San Jose small businesses and eight residential tenants to build a new subway that is not expected to begin operations until 2034.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is planning a six-mile extension to the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system from North San Jose through the city’s downtown and to neighboring Santa Clara. As I discussed in a recent op-ed, the proposed $9.3 billion project is unlikely to attract sufficient new transit ridership to justify its high cost.

The proposed subway would be built deep underground to minimize disruption along East Santa Clara Street, downtown San Jose’s major east-west thoroughfare. But the planned destruction of a mixed-use building housing the residents and businesses shows that even a deep subway will adversely impact the community. According to VTA, the building must be removed to provide egress from and ventilation to the future Downtown San Jose subway station.

Among the businesses that will be forced to close is Mexico Bakery, a minority-owned business that employs ten people and has been serving the community for almost two decades. Also facing closure are Enso Nightclub and 3^rd & Bourbon, a new lounge and restaurant.

According to VTA staff, the building needs to be removed by early 2024 to avoid impacting its construction schedule, but the project has yet to receive a Full-Funding Grant Agreement (FFTA) from the Federal Transit Administration. Lacking an FFTA and the billions of dollars in federal grants that would follow, VTA does not have enough money to complete the project.

Despite this funding uncertainty, VTA staff were anxious to seize control of the property. Consequently, they recommended that the agency’s board adopt a Resolution of Necessity at its December 1, 2022 board meeting. This resolution authorizes staff to initiate an eminent domain action unless the property owner agrees to sell.

The board gave VTA staff unlimited time to present its case for condemning the building. It then recognized the building owner to make his case against eminent domain but cut him off after five minutes. It then voted for the Resolution unanimously (with one abstention).

It is hard to understand the rush to take over this building, kick out the residents, and close the businesses given the length of the proposed project. Although VTA’s project web page suggests a 2030 opening date, a Federal Transit Administration review anticipates an opening date in June 2034.

But even that date may be optimistic given previous project results. Phase I of the BART Silicon Valley extension, consisting of ten miles of above ground track broke ground in 2012 with a planned completion date of 2016. Service along the line did not begin until 2020. Other Bay Area transit projects, including the San Francisco Central Subway and the Salesforce Transit Center also experienced long delays.

VTA plans to deprive downtown San Jose of three businesses and eight homes on the promise that maybe, one day in the next decade residents will be able to use a subway instead of a bus for certain transit needs. While VTA’s threatened use of eminent domain technically satisfies the Fifth Amendments “public use” requirement, members of today’s public do not stand to benefit.