The Colorado House and Senate have approved a bill that will allow the state to save money on land purchased from property owners for use in the FasTracks project.
The legislation says that if a portion of a landowner’s property is taken for FasTracks and assessors determine that the landowner’s remaining land will be more valuable because of its proximity to the project, then the Regional Transportation District (RTD) only has to compensate the owner for half of the property’s fair market value.
The Colorado Department of Transportation has a similar special eminent domain formula that it already uses for highway projects.
The House sponsor of the legislation said that landowners almost always stand to benefit if their land is being purchased for use as a station. Adjacent land skyrockets in value because developers and retailers are attracted to the steady stream of customers riding the light rail. However, when land is purchased for tracks, adjacent land almost never increases. In those purchases, the RTD would pay landowners the full market value of the property.
Debate over this measure was intense. Supporters felt the measure was important because it saves taxpayers money. They point out that it is only in cases where landowners are coming out way ahead because of increases in the value of their surrounding property that they receive a reduced price on the land sold to the state. In addition, they point out that there have not been large objections to the policy when it is used by the Department of Transportation for highway projects.
Opponents, on the other hand, said that bill amounts to a government taking. They also said that voters approved enough money for the FasTracks project that the state can afford to reimburse property owners for the full value of any property taken for the project.
