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.