RICHMOND, CA-The city of Richmond could invoke eminent domain for underwater mortgages by uniting with another city in a joint powers authority.

Even without getting a supermajority vote of the city council, the controversial idea could move forward, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The issue was discussed at a crowded council meeting Tuesday night, where council members voted 4-2 to set guidelines for using eminent domain to seize and restructure underwater mortgages and prevent foreclosures.

The council remains one vote short of the five-vote supermajority it needs to invoke its municipal authority to seize mortgages, city attorney Bruce Goodmiller told the council that it could set up a Joint Powers Authority that would have the power to exercise eminent domain with its own supermajority.

One of those opposed to the measure referred to it as “an end-around.”

The resolution the city is considering stipulates that eminent domain for mortgages would only be used in "exceptional circumstances when large numbers of households are underwater," the report said.

Banks and realtors oppose the concept, calling it unconstitutional and noting that it would drive up lending costs.

Click San Francisco Chronicle to read the full story.