July 24th, 2008

Potential repeal of FasTracks could mean property owners keep their homes

From the Rocky Mountain News:

Voters could see another FasTracks measure on the ballot a year or two down the road, but it might be a move to kill the overbudget transit program rather than a tax hike to bail it out.

Stymied by a lack of legal recourse to hold RTD responsible for building FasTracks according to the original plan and timetable, longtime opponent Jon Caldara of the Independence Institute in Golden said he will explore the possibility of petitioning a FasTracks repeal onto the ballot.

The 2002 legislation that allowed transit advocates to petition the FasTracks sales tax increase onto the ballot also allows for a subsequent initiative election to reduce the 0.4-cent tax, effectively killing the program.

Read the full story here.

July 24th, 2008

Aurora seniors victorious against developers

From the Rocky Mountain News:

The Aurora Planning Commission handed about 30 senior citizens a small victory Wednesday.

They gathered at the Aurora Municipal Center to speak against a 13-acre building development close to their homes.

The panel voted 4-2 against a site plan extension that would have developed four-story apartment complexes at the Heritage-Eagle Bend housing complex.

Read the full story here.

July 23rd, 2008

Colorado’s Supreme Court gets it wrong again on property rights

From the Denver Post:

Late last month, the Colorado Supreme Court released a little-noticed decision that is the very embodiment of what is wrong with the state’s highest court.

Put simply, the four-member liberal court majority is all too eager to bend the law and prior court precedent if it can reach what may seem like a desired result.

The case that most recently illustrates this tendency is not really complicated.

Read the full story here.

July 21st, 2008

RTD nabbing more land?

From the Denver Daily News:

Even Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan may be impacted by RTD’s FasTracks land acquisitions.

Property owners along the future 23.6-mile FasTracks commuter rail East Corridor between Denver Union Station and Denver International Airport could be facing unexpected land buy-outs or condemnations.

The Regional Transportation District will hold two public meetings this week to discuss the situation, which came about after the agency decided to locate its commuter rail maintenance facility at the Platte Division bus center at 31st Street and the South Platte River.

The original plan was to establish the maintenance facility at the Union Pacific 36th Street Yard maintenance facility. But FasTracks spokeswoman Pauletta Tonilas said an agreement with Union Pacific could not be reached because the rail transportation company wanted too much money. Because the rail maintenance facility is now planned for the current RTD bus maintenance facility at 31st Street, refinements in alignment are necessary and RTD may need to acquire parts or entire pieces of private property to make the corridor work.

Read the full story.

July 20th, 2008

Pinon Canyon expansion may be scaled back

From the Pueblo Chieftain:

It was just last March that Army officials hinted they were willing to chop back their controversial plan to expand the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site to just 100,000 acres - only a quarter of the 414,000 acres they have been requesting.

The Pentagon confirmed that adjustment in a statement Tuesday, which quoted Army Assistant Secretary Keith Eastin saying the smaller request is a recommendation contained in a report that is being delivered to Congress this week.

The report, ordered by Colorado Sens. Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard, is supposed to explain why the Army wants to acquire more land around the 238,000-acre training site northeast of Trinidad.

Read the rest.

July 20th, 2008

In Her Own Words: Another home owner faces FasTracks

From the Rocky Mountain News:

‘I just hate even talking about it,’ says woman who could lose home. Rosie Tozer moved into a small bungalow on 42nd Avenue between Clayton and Fillmore streets, backing up against the Union Pacific tracks, in 1953. She’s still there, and worried that RTD’s FasTracks East Corridor train to the airport will force her out. The Rocky chatted with Tozer in her backyard on Monday about life in Denver’s Swansea neighborhood and the prospect of losing her home of 55 years.

Read the full interview.

July 14th, 2008

Fundraising for the CPRC

From the Colorado Property Rights Coalition:

Greetings Fellow Property Rights Advocates:

We are now preparing for our first major fund raising effort. During the past year, we operated on a shoestring budget and accomplished quite a bit. The CPRC is now known across the state. We have made contacts in all four corners of Colorado. Our presence is also known in the State Legislature. The CPRC has worked with several of the Legislators in attempting to get bills passed this past session.

We would like to have each property owner send in a check for at least $5.00 to help us fight for your property rights. We know many of you are struggling to make ends meet and some of you may not be able to afford this, but with all the development coming in the next few years, it is imperative that we all try to send in at least $5.00 minimum to help not only yourself but one of your neighbors that will be needing our services soon.

Some of our accomplishments also included working with people with property rights issues across metro Denver, including Lakewood, Arvada, and Wheat Ridge. Some of ou members have legal issues with government entities including RTD, City Councils, and County Commissioners.

With the economy in the shape it is right now, government entities are looking for new ways to increase their tax dollars, which includes such actions as urban renewal, transit oriented development, etc.

The CPRC has an excellent opportunity to be present to make sure that your property rights are protected and that you receive the “true” fair market value for your property.

Please make checks of money orders payable to:

The CPRC

6035 Garrison Street
Arvada, CO 80004

July 10th, 2008

Boulder Property Rights Rally

Rights Rally Schedule

Boulder Property Rights Coalition

Boulder Band Shell- at Broadway and Canyon

Saturday, July 26, 2008

1 to 5 pm

Fun, exciting celebration of our American rights!
Music, entertainment, and a chance to exchange views with other people
concerned about our rights and freedoms (and how to keep them!).
Taco feast, watermelon, and soft drinks.

1-1:30
Gather at the Boulder Band Shell
Introductions
Kids Say The Darndest Things Interviews (bring your kids!)
Make Signs
Sign Petition

1:30-2:00
The amazingly hilarious Don Wrege will parody old favorites (ie. Don’t
Fence Me In, This Land Is Your Land…) lampooning the archaic adverse
possession laws, and anything else that pops into his wacky mind.

The Inside Scoop on the new adverse possession cases (25, and counting!
15 in June alone). Personal stories 3-5 minutes each.

2:00-3:00
“Too Much Jones”, the fabulous, incredibly popular band, specializing
in freedom and rights songs and popular favorites.

3:00-3:30
The Gimme-A-Break Dancers.

Lawrence the Magician will magically disappear any and all American
rights you feel are under threat. Just roll them in up in scroll, label
it, and he will Presto Change-o evaporate them!

3:30-5:00
“Too Much Jones” will play until close.

July 9th, 2008

Craig City Council annexes land for subdivision

From the Craig Daily Press:

Craig — The Craig City Council applauds compromise.

And it did so at its Tuesday night meeting after a second public hearing on the proposed Frazier East Annexation.

“It’s great to see the Pine Ridge folks come out and be part of the process,” he said. “It’s nice that two sides can concede back and forth with each other.”

The roughly 59-acre annexation project southwest of town has garnered dispute recently after residents who live near the project in the Pine Ridge subdivision opposed its development plans.

Although Pine Ridge residents still opposed the plans’ inclusion of duplexes and apartment buildings, the council unanimously approved annexing the property, approved the annexation agreement and approved the project’s zoning proposal.

Councilor Byron Willems stepped down from the discussion and vote because he lives in Pine Ridge and he said that could be seen as a conflict of interest.

Read the rest.

July 7th, 2008

Boulder sees influx of adverse possession cases as law changes

From The Daily Camera:

Exactly as some legal experts predicted, Boulder’s courts saw a spike in claims of “adverse possession” filed by people apparently trying to beat the clock on changes to the controversial land law.

Of the 25 active adverse-possession lawsuits in Boulder County — where a person or company claims someone else’s land after trespassing on it for at least 18 years — 15 of those cases were filed in June, said Debra Crosser, head clerk of Boulder District Court.

Some of those cases were filed just hours before changes to the law went into effect last Tuesday, court records show.

The changes, drafted by a bipartisan group of state legislators in the wake of a high-profile adverse-possession case in south Boulder last year, were designed to make it more difficult for people to win such cases by raising the standard of proof and requiring a “good-faith” belief that a trespasser rightly owned the disputed land to begin with.

The changes also could prove financially costly to would-be plaintiffs, as judges have gained the ability under the law to order adverse possessors to pay the losing side for the land, as well as 18 years or more of back property taxes and interest.

Read the full story here.