Mall cases highlight process of eminent domain
“Use of eminent domain is almost always contentious and can be very complex. A pair of high-profile local events in which this condemnation power has been used or threatened – in Longmont for the redevelopment of Twin Peaks Mall and in Fort Collins in the Foothills Mall redevelopment – suggests that a basic primer on eminent domain, how it is exercised and which entities have the power to utilize the process, may be useful to businesses and landowners.
Generally, the power of eminent domain is the power of federal or state government, or their respective delegates, to take private property for public use. In Colorado, the use of such power is governed by the U.S. Constitution, the Colorado Constitution and Colorado Revised Statutes. While the power is applied most commonly to take real property, it also can be applied to take personal property or even intangible property such as contract rights and copyrights.
Under the Fifth and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, property owners are entitled to receive just compensation and due process for any property taken.”
Jones, Dan. Northern Colorado Business Report 10 January 2014.