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Property owners facing condemnation proceedings if they don’t accept offers by the Regional Transportation District say they’re getting a rotten deal considering the collapsing economy and expectations of future, long-term growth.

While RTD says it is playing by the books and running a completely legal game, property owners along the future FasTracks West Corridor say the issue is about more than legality. They say it is about ethics, morals and reaching a truly fair market value. The coalition of property owners say RTD should be taking into consideration the sinking economy, as well as future projections for growth around FasTracks stations when developing offers.

A group of about 16 property owners have already received letters of intent by RTD to acquire their land. Anywhere between another 150 and 200 property owners will be receiving letters of intent by as soon as the end of the month, according to FasTracks officials.

As of Friday, nine offers had been made to the 16 property owners, said Pauletta Tonilas, spokeswoman for the FasTracks project. Of those nine offers, one has already closed and the rest are pending a resolution. Tonilas could not provide details of the offers and transaction, citing confidentiality concerns.

Fighting for the future

But the Colorado Property Rights Coalition says it is fighting for future land owners. The group pushed hard for legislation that would prevent RTD from selling portions of acquired land to private developers. But House Bill 1278 was recently killed by lawmakers.

For these land owners, the issue of fair market value comes down to replacing exactly what it is they have now. They say appraisals in today’s market are meaningless considering the poor economy and lack of true comparables. They also believe RTD should be providing them with an opportunity to develop property in the areas that they are currently in given the fact that the areas will likely become booming markets after the FasTracks stations and lines are complete.

“When you’re forced to sell to the government, you don’t get a fair deal,” said Steve Fesch, who received a letter of intent from RTD to acquire his property at Howard Place and Decatur Street near Invesco Field at Mile High. “I’m being forced to sell in a down market … I’m losing my long-term investment. I wasn’t looking for market value in today’s market. I’m looking for market value when the transit was setup — 20, 30 years down the road. This was supposed to be for my retirement.”

Fesch said he has received an appraisal from RTD, but that he and his attorney sent it back to RTD because it was missing about 3,000 square feet of his property. Neither RTD nor Fesch would disclose the appraisal.

The Steamboat Springs resident said he had big plans for the property once the FasTracks project was complete. He said he was going to build a restaurant and sports bar at the location to attract Broncos fans riding the light rail.

His attorney, Bob Hoban, said he is looking forward to taking the case to court so that he can convince a jury that the property is worth more than its current value. Hoban will hire commercial real estate planning professionals to demonstrate how much the land is actually worth considering the FasTracks project and development potential. 

“Appraisal values for some of these properties are probably a third or fourth of what it would be worth to a real estate professional,” said Hoban, an Evergreen attorney who specializes in eminent domain and land use law and once ran for the RTD Board of Directors. 

Stuck

He said his clients are stuck because it is near impossible for them to currently sell the land to a private developer. No developer would purchase the land now and no lender would underwrite the transaction given the pending letters of intent by RTD, Hoban said.

“In practicality, it’s take our offer or we’re going to take you to condemnation,” he said. “I can’t imagine a situation in which property owners will get what they’re entitled to if they had put the property on the market themselves.”

RTD falls back on the argument that it is following the rules and conducting everything legally.

“It is important to note that RTD follows the federal amended Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 and follows state laws regarding property acquisition,” said RTD spokesman Scott Reed. “Fair market value, appraised at the highest and best use of the specific property, is paid to owners of property that is needed for public projects.”

He said the agency was careful to choose the 13th Avenue corridor for the West Corridor line, as opposed to 6th Avenue, Alameda. or Colfax, because it would require the least property acquisitions.

But Kim Snyder and Galen Lee Foster have brought another argument to the table. The couple says RTD plans to acquire their property at 14th Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard in Lakewood for a parking garage, but will contract part of the land to a private developer. RTD says it is only trying to save taxpayers money.

“In some instances, RTD may look into opportunities for an outside party to build an element of a project for RTD, such as a parking structure, which could save taxpayers millions of dollars,” said Reed. “The amount of property required for the Wadsworth parking structure will remain exactly the same with or without the possibility of additional development on top of the four-story parking structure.”

Keeping air space

Hoban, who is also representing Snyder and Foster, said his clients should have the right to maintain the air space above the four-story parking structure, which is currently zoned for about 12 stories. Anything above and beyond what RTD builds should be developed by the original property owners, Hoban said.

“Take pictures of these properties now. They’re going to be lined with Tokyo Joe’s’ and Starbucks’,” he said. “No one is opposed to having those amenities in theory, it just happens to be illegal.”

Hoban added that Snyder and Foster will have a considerable problem getting a fair appraisal for the property considering there are not many 12-story buildings being built in the area.

For Snyder and Foster, however, it’s not about the money — it’s more about keeping their rights to the land.

“We’re not going anywhere,” said Snyder. “They’re going to have to come up with a Plan B, or they’re going to have to pry the property out of our cold, dead hands.”

“It’s not losing that would be bad to me. It would be not fighting for what I believe in,” she continued. “If I have to spend every last dime I’ve got, every last dime my mom’s got and every last dime my sister’s got, in the end we will have still done the right thing.”

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