For the purposes of this article, the "date of use" of property taken for public use is the date when the property is devoted to that use or when construction is started on the project for which the property is taken with the intent to complete the project within a reasonable time. In determining the "date of use," periods of delay caused by extraordinary litigation or by failure to obtain from any public entity any agreement or permit necessary for construction shall not be included.
§ 1240.210.Date of Use of Property Taken For Public Use
Title 7. Eminent Domain Law · Chapter 3. The Right to Take · Article 3. Future Use · Enacted 1975 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1240.210 defines the "date of use" of condemned property as the date the property is devoted to its intended public use or the date construction begins with intent to finish within a reasonable time, while excluding delay caused by extraordinary litigation or by waiting on another public entity's required permit or agreement.
Full Text of § 1240.210
Plain-English Summary
Article 3 lets a condemnor take property before it's needed, so long as the need is reasonably certain to arrive later. That whole scheme depends on pinning down what "date of use" means, and this section supplies the definition.
Date of use is either the date the property is devoted to the intended public use, or the earlier date construction starts on the project, provided the condemnor intends in good faith to finish the project within a reasonable time. A condemnor can't manufacture an early date of use by breaking ground without any real intention of completing the work promptly.
The definition also excludes certain delays from counting against the condemnor. Time lost to extraordinary litigation, or to waiting for a permit or agreement some other public entity had to provide before construction could proceed, doesn't count toward the date of use. Those exclusions matter directly under § 1240.220's seven-year window and § 1240.230's burden-of-proof rules for future-use takings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as the "date of use" of condemned property?
Either the date the property is devoted to its intended public use, or the date construction starts on the project with intent to complete it within a reasonable time.
Does delay from a lawsuit count against the date-of-use calculation?
No. Section 1240.210 excludes periods of delay caused by extraordinary litigation from the date-of-use determination.
What about delay waiting for another agency's permit?
That's excluded too; delay from failing to obtain a required agreement or permit from any public entity doesn't count toward the date of use.
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: date of use eminent domain californiafuture use condemnation definition california