Face the State

Face The State Staff Report

Property rights advocates experienced a small victory Tuesday when the state Senate’s Local Government Committee voted to restore a bill to its original form that would prohibit the Regional Transportation District from transferring private property obtained through eminent domain to another private owner for the purpose of any development not directly related to transit improvements and changes.

FTS Staff PhotoAt a Sunday property rights rally at 14th and Wadsworth in Lakewood, residents came together to protest alleged eminent domain abuses by RTD.

RTD lobbied heavily against House Bill 1278 until it had been amended so extensively that property owners who came to testify believed the bill no longer protected them.

“When RTD gets behind a bill like this that means it’s not bad for RTD,” said Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder, referring to RTD’s support of the amended version.

"It has become so watered down I don't even know what to do," said Kim Foster, who testified before one of a growing number of homeowners facing condemnation not for tracks, parking, or stations, but rather because RTD wants to turn their home into a massive private retail project.

The amended House version only required that if RTD didn't use property acquired through eminent domain for transit-related purposes, it would have to sell the land back to the owner at a price equal to or less than what RTD paid for it. Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thorton, said this version was a “shell of the former bill,” expressing concerns about what the property owner would do during the period of displacement. She then offered the amendment that restored the bill’s original language.

Committee members debated what kind of compromises will have to be made with the House in order to see HB 1278 pass. In the meantime, the Senate Local Government Committee will now re-hear the bill before voting to send it to the Senate floor.