The City Deli, located in the heart of Hillcrest, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The owners, Michael Wright and Allan Bilmes, serve good food and schmooze with their regulars. It’s a family place that has become a fixture in Hillcrest. Meanwhile, down University Avenue, DogmaCatma opened a year ago. Its windows are so creative that individuals stop just to see the latest in unique toys and necessaries for pampered pooches. The store has already expanded and is receiving national notice because of its exclusive designers. Located a few doors down is Martin and Wall, where we find men shopping for the latest fashions, picked by buyers who have the “queer eye” for the hot guy. The success of these businesses is fueled by the energy of their entrepreneurs. It’s not due to much help from the city of San Diego.

A recent article in Update described Hillcrest’s business picture as a “ghost town” – so many businesses open in Hillcrest then die a short time later.

City Deli has survived despite the fact that there is a serious lack of parking in Hillcrest. And what public parking there is costs several dollars an hour. The restaurant’s survival hasn’t been helped by a neighboring building that has sat vacant now for two decades; City Deli suffers from the blight at one end, while #1 Fifth Avenue suffers from it on Fifth Avenue. Over the years, the building has housed pigeons, the homeless, and now seems to attract aging punks in its doorways. It’s an eyesore and waste of property.

We can’t blame Councilmember Toni Atkins, who works tirelessly to bring economic aid to the district. Constructing high-end condos in North Park and renovating the North Park Theater are excellent examples of Toni’s efforts to attract development here. But much of what Toni and others would really like to do has been stifled by archaic laws that require the city to condemn and purchase property.

But a recent U.S. Supreme Court case now makes it easier for cities like San Diego to convert blighted properties into productive forces within the community. The case involved a resident in a town in Connecticut who objected to her home being “taken” by her city to make way for commercial ventures to support a $300 million drug-maker facility.

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the city could use its power of eminent domain to seize private property for the good of the community, economic and otherwise. Cities must pay “just compensation.” The ruling allows cities like San Diego to work with private developers who want to develop properties for more effective uses.

Historically, the courts had restricted cities from using powers to seize property unless the reason was for a public building, such as a school. But, then, the courts allowed railroads to take private lands because they served the public.

More recently, the court allowed cities to condemn homes and stores in “blighted” areas as part of a redevelopment plan. And today we have the downtown redevelopment, the Gaslamp Quarter and, of course, the ballpark and its surroundings.

But the Supreme Court now has said that the condemned properties need not be blighted. If the goal is to create new jobs or raise tax collections, officials can seize the homes or shops of unwilling sellers.

California, however, still requires that cities prove that an area is “blighted” before it can use its power to seize property for constructing non-public facilities, such as building a parking garage instead of a school. Nevertheless, the term “blighted” has become rather easy to prove, and few court decisions second-guess the cities.

Naturally, as the dissenters in the case pointed out, this power could easily be abused. There is little to preclude the city of San Diego from condemning a hundred homes in North Park to make way for a big-box Wal-Mart store. And that is a risk.

But, likewise, the door is open for the city of San Diego to entertain offers from creative developers to create multi-use properties in Hillcrest and North Park. These properties could include substantial parking, and commercial and residential facilities. In some cases, the existing buildings provide no other support for our community than to provide a meeting place for people to urinate.

As I’ve urged before, Toni Atkins and City Attorney Mike Aguirre should convene a mid-city task force to explore creative business and legal means to make Hillcrest and North Park vital economic communities, generating jobs and housing while also providing enterprising businesses a supportive place to flourish.