http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/sess1999/sbills99/sb218.htm

Link to Vested Rights Bill (HB99-1280) web page:

http://www.state.co.us/gov_dir/leg_dir/sess1999/hbills99/hb1280.htm

Takings Bill (SB 218) Synopsis, Voting Records

May 5, 1999

Senate Bill 218 protects property rights in Colorado--especially for the small property owner who is often at a disadvantage in dealing with local
governments. The bill simply puts into state law the basic property rights
that have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court over the past decade.

This bill was written very narrowly, at least on its face. Just how widely it will be applied will be determined in the courts over the next few years. As written, it applies a higher standard of review to property rights claims related to conditions, monetary exactions and dedications of land required under Site Specific Development approvals, such as Boulder County’s Site Plan Review, Limited Impact Special Use Review, Special Use Review and Planned Unit Developments.

Conditions can be applied under this bill, and dedications and exactions required, if the regulations meet certain conditions. There must be an "essential nexus to a legitimate government purpose," and the dedication must be "roughly proportional, both in nature and extent, to the impact of the owner’s proposed use or development of the property." The local government must base any requirement for such dedications on standards "that are sufficiently specific to ensure that the condition is imposed in a rational and consistent manner."

SB 99-218 also provides for an expedited process for court appeals under this law, and places the burden of proof on the local government in these cases.

This bill does not do away with local planning and land use regulation. It simply means that regulations must be specific, based on science, and not applied in an ad hoc manner that leads to inconsistency.

No mention is made of the so-called "1041 Powers," which refers to an old House Bill 1041, which delegated to Counties some responsibility for reviewing "matters of State Interest," most notably utility projects which involve pipelines or water diversion projects which cross the boundaries of several jurisdictions. Several Western Slope Republicans objected to this bill because they believe that their ability to affect trans-mountain water diversions will be impaired. We have heard they are taking these concerns to Governor Owens. Attorneys have come down on both sides of this issue.

Below are the tallys from the Third Reading votes on SB 99-218:

SB 99-218 by Sen. Anderson; Rep. Stengel--Property Rights

Co-sponsors added: Andrews, Congrove, Epps, Evans, Hillman, Lamborn, Musgrave, Owen, Tebedo.

Co-sponsors added: Representatives Lee, McPherson, Paschall, Pfiffner, Spence, T.Williams.

Takings Bill (SB 218) Passes Colorado General Assembly

May 4, 1999

SB 99-218, "Concerning Regulatory Impairment of Property Rights", a.k.a. the Takings bill, has passed it final hurdles in the Colorado General Assembly. After a too-close-for-comfort 2nd reading vote (33-30), on Friday, April 30th, a last minute phone call campaign by the Land Use Coalition, and other Property Rights groups across Colorado was rewarded with a 35 - 29 vote on Third Reading and Final Passage on Monday, May 3, 1999. One Representative, Ken Kester (R- Las Animas) had emergency matters which kept him away from the Capital on Friday (probably flood-related) and most of the day Monday. But he came to Denver for just long enough to vote for the Takings bill, then left. The House leadership scheduled the vote on the bill as the first substantive item on the agenda for Monday.

Today, the Colorado State Senate voted 19 - 16 to concur with a House Amendment to the bill. Several legislators mentioned the calls, letters & e-mails received from citizens asking them to support the bill.

Governor Owens is expected to sign the bill. Comments for the Governor can be made to:

Bill Owens, Governor
136 State Capitol
Denver, CO 80203-1792
(303) 866-2471
E-mail: governorowens@state.co.us

While Owens has indicated his support for this bill, we can expect opponents to launch a last ditch campaign to get him to veto it. It won't hurt for him to receive citizen input in support of it.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible.

Judd Ptak

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Takings Bill (SB 218) Passes Colorado House

May 3, 1999

Today the Colorado House PASSED SB 218 regarding property rights (takings) on a 35 to 29 vote. The bill codifies U.S. Supreme Court decisions on significant property rights issues, provides quicker access to the courts for property rights cases and shifts the burden of proof from the property owner to the local government, among other things. The bill will return to the Senate for a minor adjustment and then on the Governor Owens to be signed into law!

We will provide updates on this legislation as we receive more information, including what it means to Boulder County landowners.

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May 1, 1999

The Takings Bill narrowly passed its second reading before the Colorado House of Representatives yesterday, with a vote of 33 to 30.

Phone calls to key representatives are helping, but there are some who are wavering on their vote and who need to be contacted pronto. Boulder County is the "poster child" for this legislation because the legislators are hearing the most about the "takings" problems here.

Hearings for the third and final vote are scheduled for Monday, May 3 at 9:00 a.m. If it passes, the bill will go to Governor Owens for his signature.

Please return here for additional updates as they become available, or watch your email for updates to the LUC Legislation Mailing List.

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April 27, 1999

The Takings Bill passed out of committee today with a vote of 7 to 5. It will go to its second and third readings in front of the full House within the next few days, where it is expected to pass. At that point, both the House and Senate will need to hammer out some details, and then it goes to Governor Bill Owens who is expected to sign it.

We will provide updates on this pending legislation as we receive more information.

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April, 1999 Legislation Updates

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Boulder County

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Boulder County Slopes Advisory Committee members, their phone numbers and addresses:

	Phil Stern, P.O. Box 56, Allenspark, CO 80510, 303/747-2986, phil.stern@colorado.edu;
	Audrey Godell, 135 South 8th St., Nederland, CO 80466, 303/258-7949;
	Sam Weaver, 120 Betasso Road, Boulder, CO 80302, 303/417-0458, Samw@sugarloaf.net;
	Sylvia Dane, 6149 Four Mile Canyon Drive, Boulder, CO 80302, 303/442-3652;
	Peter Brady, 173 Gold run Road, Boulder, CO 80302, 303/442-5138;
	Ed Russell, 770 Steamboat Valley Road, P.O. Box 994, Lyons, CO 80540, Home: 303/823-6194, Work: 303/444-1670, erussell@ctmap.com;
	Jimmy Kieth, 2381 County Road 68, Nederland, CO 80466, 303/441-5621, Cellular 888-2828.

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For more information contact the Land Use Coalition at info@landusecoalition.org or call 303-666-7903.

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