[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 120, 109th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

120 STAT. 770

Public Law 109-272
109th Congress

An Act


 
To preserve the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, California,
by providing for the immediate acquisition of the memorial by the United
States.  NOTE: Aug. 14, 2006 -  [H.R. 5683]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress  NOTE: 16 USC 431
note.  assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial has proudly stood
overlooking San Diego, California, for over 52 years as a
tribute to the members of the United States Armed Forces who
sacrificed their lives in the defense of the United States.
(2) The Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial was dedicated on April
18, 1954, as ``a lasting memorial to the dead of the First and
Second World Wars and the Korean conflict'' and now serves as a
memorial to American veterans of all wars, including the War on
Terrorism.
(3) The United States has a long history and tradition of
memorializing members of the Armed Forces who die in battle with
a cross or other religious emblem of their faith, and a memorial
cross is fully integrated as the centerpiece of the multi-
faceted Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial that is replete with
secular symbols.
(4) The patriotic and inspirational symbolism of the Mt.
Soledad Veterans Memorial provides solace to the families and
comrades of the veterans it memorializes.
(5) The Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial has been recognized by
Congress as a National Veterans Memorial and is considered a
historically significant national memorial.
(6) 76 percent of the voters of San Diego supported donating
the Mt. Soledad Memorial to the Federal Government only to have
a superior court judge of the State of California invalidate
that election.
(7) The City of San Diego has diligently pursued every
possible legal recourse in order to preserve the Mt. Soledad
Veterans Memorial in its entirety for persons who have served in
the Armed Forces and those persons who will serve and sacrifice
in the future.

SEC. 2. ACQUISITION OF MT. SOLEDAD VETERANS MEMORIAL, SAN DIEGO,
CALIFORNIA.

(a) Acquisition.--To effectuate the purpose of section 116 of
division E of Public Law 108-447 (118 Stat. 3346; 16 U.S.C. 431 note),
which, in order to preserve a historically significant war memorial,
designated the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San

[[Page 771]]
120 STAT. 771

Diego, California, as a national memorial honoring veterans of the
United States Armed Forces, there is hereby vested in the United States
all right, title, and interest in and to, and the right to immediate
possession of, the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego,
California, as more fully described in subsection (d).
(b) Compensation.--The United States shall pay just compensation to
any owner of the property for the property taken pursuant to this
section, and the full faith and credit of the United States is hereby
pledged to the payment of any judgment entered against the United States
with respect to the taking of the property. Payment shall be in the
amount of the agreed negotiated value of the property or the valuation
of the property awarded by judgment and shall be made from the permanent
judgment appropriation established pursuant to section 1304 of title 31,
United States Code. If the parties do not reach a negotiated settlement
within one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Defense may initiate a proceeding in a court of competent
jurisdiction to determine the just compensation with respect to the
taking of such property.
(c)  NOTE: Memorandum.  Maintenance.--Upon acquisition of the Mt.
Soledad Veterans Memorial by the United States, the Secretary of Defense
shall manage the property and shall enter into a memorandum of
understanding with the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association for the
continued maintenance of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial by the
Association.

(d) Legal Description.--The Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial referred
to in this section is all that portion of Pueblo lot 1265 of the Pueblo
Lands of San Diego in the City and County of San Diego, California,
according to the map thereof prepared by James Pascoe in 1879, a copy of
which was filed in the office of the County Recorder of San Diego County
on November 14, 1921, and is known as miscellaneous map No. 36, more
particularly described as follows: The area bounded by the back of the
existing inner sidewalk on top of Mt. Soledad, being also a circle with
radius of 84 feet, the center of which circle is located as follows:
Beginning at the Southwesterly corner of such Pueblo Lot 1265, such
corner being South 17 degrees 14'33" East (Record South 17 degrees
14'09" East) 607.21 feet distant along the westerly line of such Pueblo
lot 1265 from the intersection with the North line of La Jolla Scenic
Drive South as described and dedicated as parcel 2 of City Council
Resolution No. 216644 adopted August 25, 1976; thence North 39 degrees
59'24" East 1147.62 feet to the center of such circle. The exact
boundaries and legal description of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial
shall be determined by survey prepared by the Secretary of Defense. Upon
acquisition

[[Page 772]]
120 STAT. 772

of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial by the United States, the
boundaries of the Memorial may not be expanded.

Approved August 14, 2006.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 5683:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 152 (2006):
July 19, considered and passed House.
Aug. 1, considered and passed Senate.