Any person authorized to acquire property for a particular use by eminent domain may exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire for that use property appropriated to public use if the use for which the property is sought to be taken is a more necessary public use than the use to which the property is appropriated. Where property is sought to be acquired pursuant to this section, the complaint, and the resolution of necessity if one is required, shall refer specifically to this section.
§ 1240.610.Generally
Title 7. Eminent Domain Law · Chapter 3. The Right to Take · Article 7. Condemnation for More Necessary Public Use · Enacted 1975 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1240.610 lets an authorized condemnor take property already appropriated to a public use when the new use for which the property is sought is more necessary than the use to which the property is already appropriated, provided the complaint and any required resolution of necessity specifically reference this section.
Full Text of § 1240.610
Plain-English Summary
Where § 1240.510 asks whether two public uses can coexist, § 1240.610 governs what happens when they can't, when a new use would entirely displace an existing one. This section lets a condemnor take property already devoted to a public use if the use for which the property is sought is a more necessary public use than the use already there.
Nothing in this section defines "more necessary" in the abstract; that work gets done through the burden-of-proof framework in § 1240.620 and the presumptions built into §§ 1240.640, 1240.650, and 1240.660, which assign relative priority among the state, local public entities, and private uses of appropriated property.
As with the compatible-use provision, the complaint and any required resolution of necessity must specifically refer to § 1240.610, so the property's current holder knows the condemnor is claiming a displacement, not merely a coexistence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must a condemnor show to take property under a more-necessary-use theory?
That the use for which the property is sought is a more necessary public use than the use to which the property is already appropriated.
How is this different from the compatible-use taking under § 1240.510?
Compatible use asks whether two uses can coexist without unreasonable interference; more-necessary-use lets the new use displace the existing one entirely when it's more necessary.
Does this section define what counts as "more necessary"?
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: more necessary public use eminent domain californiacondemning government property california