Group Opposing Eminent Domain Gathers 1,200 Signatures For Measure: ABC-7 News (Denver CO), 1/9/06

Supporters of a state constitutional amendment to limit the government's use of eminent domain to seize property said they have gathered 1,200 signatures in support of getting it on the November ballot.

The signatures were collected in two days at the National Western Stock Show in Denver in an effort led by a group called Colorado Citizens for Property Rights, the group said Sunday. Supporters need 100,000 signatures to get a proposed amendment to limit eminent domain on the ballot.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling this summer allowed local governments to seize property for economic purposes, but said states were free to enact their own laws protecting property rights.

Colorado Citizens for Property Rights is seeking an amendment to the state constitution that would limit the government's ability to use eminent domain to take property for private uses such as stores, private toll roads, corporate campuses or other economic development projects.

They said their proposal would not affect the use of eminent domain for public projects such as highways, schools or utilities.

The group was formed last year to fight the proposed "Super Slab" private toll road along the Front Range. The developer had been planning to use the power of eminent domain to take over private property for the project.

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