You Think You Own Your Property?....Not in Boulder

Media and Policy Review ^ | 8/21/02 | Kevin Kelley

[Kevin Kelley]

Hey, it's nothing personal. The City of Boulder (Colorado) will be filing for legal condemnation against Pollard Motors (30th & Pearl) in an effort to leverage them off their property. But fret not.....it's for a "transit village", along with affordable housing. Isn't that nice? Not only that, the condemnation will not be a hostile act....they're going to be nice about it, according to council. As reported in the Camera....

City Councilman Tom Eldridge said the condemnation preparations are not meant to be hostile, but simply send the message that the city is serious in its intent to buy the property.

By all appearances, Pollard Motors is a viable ongoing enterprise, with a nice modern showroom and several hundred cars on the lot. Is this what condemnation has come to? Suppose the city wanted your block for "affordable housing"? In Boulder, as long as the ends justify the means, you can expect more of this.

Kevin Kelley

[RightWhale]

That is the true fact. Those who prefer to think otherwise are blind to the law. There are a few exempt parcels back east, but all the rest is the state's. Pay the taxes and be grateful. Be sure that oil spot in the driveway is cleaned up, and keep your lawn trimmed and green but don't water at the wrong time of day.

[cruiserman]

If you pay property taxes on your home/land, you don't own it.

[AdamSelene235]

Hi Kevin, & welcome. Here in Washington state a city council has condemned LAND owned by a church because they say COSTCO will make a "better" neighbor and they are in cahoots with the company to build a new store.

There was a case similar to this in Boulder County recently. It seems churches do not generate the tax revenue the city wanted and so they attempt to zone them off of so called private land(in reality most land in the US is now feudal rather than allodial). There was another case here recently where a widow's land was placed on the ballot to be essentially "nationalized". Goodbye Constitution, hello mobocracy. The state dictates where you work,live,pray and how much of your salary you are allowed to keep. The institute for justice www.ij.org likes to fight these sort of cases.

[MileHi]

I just never go to the PRB anymore except the occasional TRT event. It's a snotty little upitty town.

BTW, welcome to FR.

[Libertina]

Please explain more about putting land on a ballot, I am at a loss to understand this. And have you heard anything about getting land Patented?

[AdamSelene235]

Please explain more about putting land on a ballot, I am at a loss to understand this. And have you heard anything about getting land Patented?

It only takes a petition to get things on the ballot. I dunno if thats how this particular issue got on but there it was: Should the state seize this ladies land Yes/No?

I have heard about land patents aka allodial land but am lacking practical details. Homesteaded land was originally allodial rather than feudal.

[paulklenk]

Welcome, FReeper!

[beavus]

Who DOES own their own property?

Property tax = Rent.

Who do you send your property taxes to? They're the ones who own the property. If you don't think so, what do you think will happen to your property if you don't pay your rent, er uh, property taxes? Answer: Eviction.

[Paulus Invictus]

Darn! I didn't know that Boulder is still a part of the US. Didn't they vote to become part of China? When they confiscate private property and distribute the wealth to all, Boulder will achieve their dream of total socialism. Total dips run that nice place.

[Paulus Invictus]

Here in our town, it's Wal-Mart with the clout. The City Council turned to jello, grabbed ankles gave the W-M bandits big tax breaks and screwed the citizens that protested. It's all about money and W-M has lots of it.