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

[CJ Wolf]

Welcome to FR Kevin.

[Black Agnes]

Preview of what will happen to the suburbanites in FL that support the everglades boondoggle. Once people are confined to small spaces, the 'single home owners' will lose to the same emminent domain BS for high rise/dense housing projects 'for the people'. I mean really, if a majority of the people vote for it, who can deny it's a good thing?

[Black Agnes]

Welcome to FR. Find the property rights folx and hang with them, you'll fit in just fine I think! :)

[AdamSelene235]

The only reason they have an affordable housing crisis is they used the tax money of those who can't afford housing to buy rich people large backyards aka "open space" or what Thomas Sowell calls "housing bans".

[Ciexyz]

The Pittsburgh PA area has been fighting eminent domain for years. City Council recently wanted to take over a bunch of businesses to revitalize downtown. Trouble was, these were all legitimate businesses (albeit small ones, without big clout), but the area wasn't a slum by any means. After the businesses banded together and fought, suddenly the mayor discovered alternative proposals.

[Paleo Conservative]

I'm sure this is going to a federal court.

[3AngelaD]

And in the early '90s, the Boulder City Council seriously considered a proposal to build affordable housing and invite the "disadvantaged" of Denver to move in, because of a concern that Boulder lacked "diversity," in that so few poor people lived there. They were the laughing stock of Colorado. There reason so few poor people lived there was that they set aside so much "green space" that there is no where to building new housing, affordable or otherwise, unless you are a millionaire (or, apparently you can get the city to condemn a perfectly good business for you.)

[Black Agnes]

Well, that perfectly good business *is* selling evil nasty polluting automobiles!

[dcwusmc]

Welcome aboard. Nice first post!

[Mr. Jeeves]

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

Not anywhere in the US. You are just renting it from the government (by paying property taxes). Your deed just grants you a limited degree of control over the property, with terms subject to change whenever the government chooses to change them.

[Libertina]

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. The church (that was planning to build) is not taking this quietly and have filed a law suit, thank goodness. And here I thought only buildings were condemned for being unsafe! It's unbelievable that a citizens private business & legally owned land can be shut down at the whim of a city council...no wait, we must be talking about the USSR...

[backhoe]

Welcome... FYI--

-The Thoreau Institute Urban Growth and Transportation Studies--

has a lot of info & opinion refuting the "urban sprawl," "Lite rail/mass transit" and related items...

And more here:

-Independence Institute--"Rights" Research

[been_lurking]

Exactly. BTTT

[Black Agnes]

Darn, shoulda pinged you too. Will make note to self next time to ping you when I find these first :)

[Kay Ludlow]

How else can they create Utopia, when ordinary landowners don't want to participate? Condemnation is the only way to make it work, and when we have the perfect community, everyone will be glad. /sarcasm off

[Billthedrill]

Not anywhere in the US. You are just renting it from the government (by paying property taxes).

A fact. If anyone does not believe this he or she is welcome to refuse to pay those taxes and see what happens.

[NorCoGOP]

Pollard Motors is a viable ongoing enterprise, with a nice modern showroom and several hundred cars on the lot.

That is evil Kaptitalism in the People's Republic of Boulder - where's it's illegal to smoke a cigarette everywhere, but, marijuana (though technically illegal) is smoked openly and freely....

How dare someone try to make money in Boulder! Shame! Evil!

I never go to CU football games anymore, shop, eat, or even stop for gas if I have to go anywhere near that commune...errr...city....

[Question_Assumptions]

This is one of those issues where no one thinks its a problem until someone comes after their home. Don't expect anyone to wake up soon.