(a) The VTA may exercise the right of eminent domain to take any property necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers granted in this part. The VTA, in exercising this power, shall in addition to the damages for the taking, injury, or destruction of property, also pay the cost, exclusive of betterment and with credit for salvage value, of removal, reconstruction, or relocation of any structure, railways, mains, pipes, conduits, wires, cables, or poles of any public utility that are required to be moved to a new location.
(b) No taking or acquisition by the VTA that would involve the abandonment, removal, relocation, or use of the property of a railroad corporation, as defined in Section 230, shall be permitted, unless the Public Utilities Commission, after a hearing, shall find and determine that the public interest and necessity require the abandonment, removal, relocation, or use of that property and that the taking or acquisition will not unreasonably impair the ability of the railroad corporation involved to provide safe, adequate, economical, and efficient service.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 381, Sec. 47. (AB 2196) Effective January 1, 2017.)