Carroll: In the Wild West of Colorado’s metropolitan districts, developers can take land by force
“The Colorado Supreme Court is supposed to act as a stout defender of civil liberties. But apparently all bets are off when it comes to private property. In that sphere the court seems to have embraced the Jesse James theory of property rights: If you can take it, it’s yours.
At least you can if you are one of those hybrid creatures so beloved by local politicians these days: a metropolitan district.
For many years metro districts, often created by developers with a nod from local government, have enjoyed the power to tax residents for things like streets, water, fire protection and parks with surprisingly little oversight. But life got even better for them this year.
Thanks to a state high court ruling, a metropolitan district now may condemn property to benefit the developer even when its board is staffed exclusively with employees and principals of the developer, and it has made little attempt to negotiate a purchase price.
All that the developer/district — they were utterly indistinguishable in this case — has to do, according to the state high court, is demonstrate its intention to use the property at a later date for public benefit, such as sidewalks, utilities and drainage, and it will be in the clear.”
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Carrol, Vincent. Denver Post 22 November 2019.