Assuming that the Mullarkey Court follows its own precedent (set with last summer’s Telluride Land Grab ruling), Boulder-area land owners (Feeling stepped on in Boulder) are in for some rude treatment at the hands of local government, backed by the Colorado state Supreme Court.

Boulder County appears dead set on following Telluride’s example in seizing private property through eminent domain in order to build a recreational trail - the same county officials who wouldn’t let a rancher build a “picnic gazebo” in his own back yard because it “didn’t jibe with his agriculturally zoned home.”  Now we know why: they wanted to grab the picnic property for themselves.

As the Denver Post article notes on the second page, “Using eminent domain for open space has precedent.”  True - the Mullarkey Majority set that precedent with last summer’s notorious “Telluride Land Grab” ruling in June 2008.  As noted in the article:

Telluride’s valley floor case

In 2004, the town of Telluride condemned its 572-acre valley floor, a pristine meadow where a developer had long envisioned a residential and commercial village. The town wanted the parcel protected as undeveloped open space.

The Colorado Supreme Court weighed in on the Telluride valley floor case and overturned legislation (Ed. ignored legislation by declaring it inapplicable; the law still stands, for what it’s worth) that had restricted open-space takings. Ultimately, Telluride was allowed to condemn its valley floor but had to pay the developer $50 million for rights to the land.

“It is not nearly as common as roads or utilities, but it certainly is not unheard of here in Colorado,” said Jack Sperber, an attorney with the Denver firm Faegre & Benson, who specializes in eminent-domain issues.

… Colorado has statutes allowing for open-space or recreational condemnation, and the Telluride case established a precedent showing open space as a valid public service…

 Uh-oh.  Looks bad for the Boulder County landowners.  But wait, there’s more:

The Telluride case emboldened Colorado municipalities to consider recreation when pondering eminent domain, said Jessica Corry, a policy analyst with the free market-focused Independence Institute in Golden.

The state hasn’t seen more land grabs because municipalities are struggling with dwindling revenue right now, Corry said.

“When coffers start to return to normal levels, I’d predict we’ll see more attempts,” she said.

So the Boulder County landowners may be only the first in a new wave of eminent domain abuse cases to join the victims of the Mullarkey Majority’s Telluride Land Grab.

So is there anything that these property owners can do to defend themselves?  Sure, they can fight the impending Boulder Land Grab in court; they may even be able to take it up all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court, where the Mullarkey Majority will be sure to give them fair, impartial, and evenhanded consideration of their claim to defend their land.

Yeah, right.

OR: they can fight the case in court, and simultaneously do everything in their power to ensure that when their case IS eventually heard by the Colorado Supreme Court, it will be with a fresh set of justices that will actually UPHOLD the law and their constitutional rights.

Just saying.

Ditch the Mullarkey Majority - vote “NO” on retaining unjust justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice and Chief InJustice Mary Mullarkey in 2010!  Let’s Clear The Bench, Colorado!

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