CHAPTER 3: BCHD spends months avoiding requests from the members of the public who want to learn more about the land acquisition and land use issues.
We now know with certainty that BCHD took private land to use for the public purpose of a hospital. We also know that, by the law, and by the promises BCHD was required to make to take the land by force, that the BCHD property could only be used for the declared public purpose of operating a hospital, in perpetuity.
Yet, BCHD has not mentioned that fact at any time throughout this process. And, when specifically asked by concerned citizens to prove they even owned the land, BCHD delayed, and obfuscated, and delayed some more. What was/is BCHC hiding?
As they say, curious minds wanted to know. Those impacted by BCHD’s development plans had the right to know the answer to this fundamental question. What could BCHD actually do, by law, with the land they proposed to build on?
The deed of title would answer that question. All land in California is transferred by deed, and the deed is publicly recorded. Since the deed proves you own property, and contains language which defines what can, and CANNOT be done with that property, every property owner knows the deed is important. And, especially if you are engaging in massive, long term construction and proposing to transfer land to another, private party during the process, if you were BCHD, you would have had the deed in hand and know what it says. If you were the private party also benefitting from a land transfer, you should want to know as well!
All questions would be answered by the deed of title to the BCHD property. Nothing would be simpler than just asking BCHD to provide the deed of title to the land they proposed to engage in a multi-year “nine-figure” construction project. Naturally, BCHD would provide a prompt, simple, direct answer to this fundamental question, right?
That was not to be the case. Little did we know that simple, direct question would spark a year long ordeal.
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The search for the truth continues on Sunday in Chapter 4: “BCHD is reluctant to reveal documents which would prove land ownership and how that land might legally be used.”
