|
|
 |
Colorado
Bill Will Allow Denver's RTD to Purchase Some Properties Near Future Light-Rail Stations at Below Market Value
With the Colorado Department of Transportation already entitled to acquire land for highway projects at its partial fair-market value, a law upheld by the state Supreme Court, both chambers of the Democratic-led legislature passed a bill allowing this special eminent-domain formula to the metro Denver's Regional Transportation District (RTD), for use near dozens of light-rail stations envisioned in the voter-approved $4.7 billion FasTracks plan.
Sent to Republican Governor Bill Owens, reports Denver Post writer Jim Hughes, the bill lets RTD pay only half market value for a condemned property portion if assessors find that the portions kept by the owner will become more valuable because of proximity to light rail.
As lawmakers debated the bill, sponsored by Democratic Senator Suzanne Williams and criticized by Republicans, reported Rocky Mountain News writer Stuart Steers last month, RTD spokesman Scott Reed stressed that the formula will ''only apply when there's a specific parcel immediately adjacent to a transit station,'' and subsequent area development is certain and the parcel's prospective value increase ''provable'' in numbers.
''Say if a developer was going to build an office park,'' he noted, ''that would be a direct benefit to the property owner that could be quantified.''
But after the bill's passage, the Post writer observes, Republicans continued to complain about a ''land grab,'' not expected by voters who approved FasTrack last November. Democratic Representative Jack Pommer responded he had heard no complaints about the same CDOT procedure. ''Some people are going to make a heck of a lot of money (when train stations are built near their property),'' he said. ''That should be taken into consideration.'' -- Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News
3/24/2005
Click here or here to view the source article or
here or here to view the source publication.
|
|
E-mail
to a Friend
View
Printer-friendly page 
