Eminent Domain and Term Limits on Ballot

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved placing two county charter amendments before voters in November: one to impose term limits on supervisors and another that would bar the county from using eminent domain for economic development projects that end up in private hands.

The term limits amendment would preclude supervisors from serving more than three consecutive four-year terms. It would also raise supervisors’ salaries by December 2008 to equal an average of what their counterparts make in Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties. Supervisors now make $99,068.

The eminent domain amendment would allow the county to take private property only for public uses such as roads and parks, and not, for example, for use by businesses.