The power of eminent domain may be exercised to acquire property for a proposed project only if all of the following are established:
§ 1240.030.Exercise of Power to Acquire Property For Proposed Use
Title 7. Eminent Domain Law · Chapter 3. The Right to Take · Article 1. General Limitations on Exercise of Power of Eminent Domain · Enacted 1975 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1240.030 requires a public entity to establish three things before taking property for a proposed project: that public interest and necessity require the project, that the project is planned or located to serve the greatest public good with the least private injury, and that the specific property is necessary for the project.
Full Text of § 1240.030
(a) The public interest and necessity require the project.
(b) The project is planned or located in the manner that will be most compatible with the greatest public good and the least private injury.
(c) The property sought to be acquired is necessary for the project.
Plain-English Summary
This section is the analytical core of every eminent domain resolution in California. Before a public entity can take property for a proposed project, it has to establish three separate findings, and each one does different work.
The first, that public interest and necessity require the project, asks whether the project itself should happen at all. The second asks about location and design: has the project been planned so it serves the greatest public good with the least private injury, rather than needlessly maximizing the burden on property owners. The third narrows the focus to the parcel in front of the court: is this particular property necessary for the project itself, as opposed to some other parcel that would do just as well.
These three findings get folded into the resolution of necessity that § 1240.040 requires before a public entity can proceed, and § 1245.210 and its companion sections in Chapter 4 spell out the procedure for adopting that resolution, including the owner's own opportunity to be heard.
Frequently Asked Questions
What three findings must a public entity make before condemning property for a project?
That the public interest and necessity require the project, that the project is planned or located to serve the greatest public good with the least private injury, and that the specific property is necessary for the project.
Does this section let a public entity take any property near a project it wants to build?
No. The third finding requires that the specific property sought be necessary for the project, not merely convenient or nearby.
How does this section relate to the resolution of necessity?
These findings are what a public entity's resolution of necessity, required by § 1240.040, must establish before an eminent domain action can proceed.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1975, Ch. 1275.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: eminent domain necessity findings californiaresolution of necessity requirements california