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Transportation Commission delays eminent-domain decision for Caddy property on State Route 12
Summary
The commission postponed a resolution of necessity for Caltrans to acquire frontage from the Caddy property on State Route 12 after the property owner and commissioners raised safety and flooding concerns; Caltrans said a left-turn pocket to private property is not department policy.
The Transportation Commission on Tuesday postponed action on a Caltrans resolution of necessity to take roughly 2.4 acres of the Caddy property along State Route 12 in Solano County, agreeing to revisit the matter at its March meeting in San Francisco.
Caltrans District 4 Director Bijan Sartipi told commissioners the project is a Collision Severity Reduction Program effort that would add standard 8-foot shoulders, correct vertical curves to improve sight distance, construct left-turn pockets at three public roads, and repave the roadway. “The department has demonstrated that the public interest and necessity requires the proposed project,” Sartipi said, also noting the department needs about 0.87 acre in temporary construction easement and a 475-square-foot utility easement from the Caddy property.
Property owner Robert Caddy urged the commission to require a left-turn pocket into his private industrial driveway and to address repeated flooding near his ranch. “What we’re asking for here is consideration for a left turn pocket or wider spot that’s safe and a simple 36-inch culvert,” Caddy said, describing vehicle backups and collisions he said are captured on his site cameras and saying the proposed new right-of-way would lie within 18 to 28 feet of his front porch.
Caltrans presenters and staff replied that department policy does not provide left-turn pockets into private driveways and that the known accidents at the location are limited in number: the department’s accident records showed two crashes at the private- driveway location between February 2006 and February 2012. Sartipi said the project is designed to keep the highway profile within a FEMA-identified 100-year floodplain and that placing a culvert at the owner’s suggested location could require wetland consultation and mitigation that would delay the safety work.
Commissioners pressed both sides on safety and possible design remedies. Several commissioners said traffic on SR‑12 has increased since earlier upgrades and expressed concern that omitting a left-turn treatment could create an unsafe condition for the industrial access, where Caddy and tenants reported heavy truck and crane traffic. After discussion, a commissioner moved to delay action and urged Caltrans to continue negotiating with the property owner on mitigation and alternatives; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.
Caltrans said it has made the purchase offer required by Government Code section 7267.2 and that 16 of the 17 other parcel negotiations for the project are resolved. The department also said it would continue negotiations with the owner after the commission’s resolution and that it would accept property-owner-funded improvements through an encroachment permit if the owner elected to build them.
The commission set the item to return at its March 5 meeting in San Francisco so Caltrans and the property owner can continue discussions about alternatives including signage, access changes, cost-sharing for a left-turn pocket, or other mitigations.
Copies of Caltrans’ project materials and the owner’s photos and accident video were offered to commissioners and staff for follow-up review.
