Eminent domain is the power of a government agency to take private real property for public use, in exchange for just compensation. It’s often called condemnation. For churches, this most commonly comes up when a portion of the property — say, part of a parking lot — is needed for something like a freeway widening project, leaving the church with too few spaces to legally function.
What Is Eminent Domain?
Eminent domain is the actual taking of property, usually permanent, where a government agency removes physical possession of real property from its owner. It can also apply short of a full physical taking — if an agency places restrictions on the property’s use severe enough to deprive the owner of its use and enjoyment, that can count as a temporary or regulatory taking. Either way, the owner is entitled to just compensation.
Inverse Condemnation: When the Church Has to Force the Issue
Inverse condemnation flips the usual process around. Instead of the government initiating a formal eminent domain action, the property owner is the one who has to bring a claim — usually through litigation — arguing that a taking has already occurred and seeking compensation through what amounts to a forced purchase.
This comes up in two common scenarios for churches: when a government agency uses its eminent domain power to take only part of a property (for example, a portion of the parking lot for a freeway widening project, leaving too few spaces for the church to legally function), or when an agency doesn’t formally invoke eminent domain at all but instead forbids church use in a particular area or blocks the church from building — a regulatory taking that leaves the property with little to no value as a church.
How Courts Value Church Property
Because churches aren’t bought and sold like typical commercial real estate, appraisers on opposite sides of a case can land on wildly different numbers — and that difference is usually where the real fight happens.
A useful illustration is Redevelopment Agency of the City of Long Beach v. First Christian Church of Long Beach, a 1983 California Court of Appeal case. The city’s appraiser valued the condemned church at $1,000,000, using a 75% depreciation factor based on a comparable church that had sold for close to its bare land value. The church’s own appraiser valued the property at $4,600,000, using a smaller 40% depreciation factor tied to the building’s replacement cost. The trial court settled on a fair market value of $3,000,000, and the Court of Appeal upheld that finding.
The case underscores a broader point: special-use buildings like churches often have little value to an ordinary buyer beyond the specific use they were built for. Because of that, courts have recognized alternative valuation approaches — particularly reproduction or replacement cost less depreciation — as a fairer way to value churches and similar properties than pure market comparables.
Protecting Your Church During the Process
If a government agency — or more often, their real estate agent — approaches your church with a purchase offer tied to a public project, know your rights before you respond.
It’s strongly advised that you avoid meeting with the government’s agent or signing anything until you’ve consulted an attorney. A signature, or even certain meetings, can start the legal clock running and trigger the agency’s adoption of a “Resolution of Necessity” — the formal step that allows the agency to take the property while compensation is settled later in court.
Please see our other related articles.
How Zoning Codes Effect Churches
Don’t Sign a Letter of Intent
Churches and Nonconforming Use
Disclaimer: Every situation is different and particular facts may vary thereby changing or altering a possible course of action or conclusion. The information contained herein is intended to be general in nature as laws vary between federal, state, counties, and municipalities and therefore may not apply to any given matter. This information is not intended to be legal advice or relied upon as a legal opinion, course of action, accounting, tax or other professional service. You should consult the proper legal or professional advisor knowledgeable in the area that pertains to your particular situation.
