A Santa Barbara salon forced to move because of eminent domain has sued the city, asking for more than $1 million in relocation costs. 

The city used eminent domain to seize and pay for several commercial properties near the De La Vina Bridge Replacement Project site, including the one leased by Mishay Salon.

The salon filed the lawsuit on Aug. 28 related to its move from 2728 De La Vina St. to 1126 Santa Barbara St. The lawsuit alleges the city violated the Uniform Relocation Act, which requires relocation assistance and actual costs of reestablishing a business at a suitable replacement site.

While the city has paid about $200,000 to the business, salon owner Andrea Ridgell is asking for more money to cover renovations of the new property.

The disagreement stems from the fact that the new space is larger than the previous one. The city decided in administrative hearings to pay only a portion of the submitted costs. 

Ridgell had “spent hundreds of thousands of dollars” improving the De La Vina Street space into the “preeminent” salon in town and built a loyal clientele, per the civil complaint.

Then she was forced to move because of the eminent domain case and spent years finding and renovating a new space, according to her attorney.  

“This has been a nightmare for Andrea and her husband,” said Todd Amspoker of Price, Postel & Parma, who has represented the salon owner since 2021. 

Ridgell filed reimbursement claims for $1.6 million related to renovating the new building, according to the lawsuit.

Mishay Salon also received about $900,700 in a previous eminent domain-related settlement from the city, according to court records.  

A case management meeting is scheduled for Nov. 4 in Santa Barbara Superior Court. 

“The city’s position is that it met its legal obligations throughout the eminent domain and administrative hearing processes by providing appropriate compensation, but that obligation does not extend to financing an upgrade or expansion of the business as part of the relocation process,” City Attorney John Doimas said in a statement. “Therefore, the reason for the dispute.” 

Salon Relocates After Eminent Domain Case

Ridgell started looking for a new salon location in 2022, after being notified of the eminent domain action, the complaint says. 

After difficulty finding an appropriate property, she purchased the Santa Barbara Street building in 2023, according to the lawsuit. Major renovations began, which included electrical and plumbing work for the former office building, Amspoker said. 

But the city’s right-of-way agent did not reimburse all the costs, the lawsuit alleges. 

Ridgell took on debt and “drained every financial resource available” to finish renovations and finished them in late 2024, according to the lawsuit. 

“Importantly, the city approved this property before I moved forward. City staff reviewed the plans, issued permits, and had full visibility into the scope and projected costs through my architect,” Ridgell wrote in a letter to the City Council before a May administrative hearing on the relocation costs. “I relied on those approvals in good faith. Now the city refuses to pay us for safety and code upgrades that the city insisted we construct.”

She continued: “And after all of this — after the approvals, the direction, the reliance, the debt, the sacrifice — I was told that the city would not reimburse the full extent of the costs. After the fact. After the damage was done.” 

Administrative hearings this year found that the type of costs submitted for reimbursement were appropriate, according to the complaint.

However, City Administrator Kelly McAdoo reduced the amount by 42% because the new building is larger than the old space.

It’s that calculation that prompted Mishay Salon to file the lawsuit, Amspoker said. 

The new building is 7,500 square feet. He argues that the salon areas are about 4,500 feet of that building, and they are not asking to be reimbursed for improvements to the rest of the building. Back areas are being rented to other businesses, he said. 

The De la Vina Street space was about 4,000 square feet, he added, but the city calculated it around 3,000 square feet. 

Bridge Project Eminent Domain Cases

The city paid several million dollars to property owners and businesses near the bridge project as part of the eminent domain cases. 

According to the 2025 final judgment, the city paid Mishay Salon $725,000 for “loss of business goodwill” and $175,680 for furnishings, fixtures and equipment at the De la Vina Street property. 

The property owner of 2726 and 2728 De La Vina Street received $2 million. 

The city also paid $2.6 million to 2725 De La Vina St LLC and De La Vina Liquor, Inc. for that building and business.  

Yellow Bird Music, another business displaced by the bridge project, relocated a few blocks away to 2600 De La Vina St. 

Bridge project construction started in June 2025. One-way traffic control is active in the area.