Chapter 19 - § 19.1 • INTRODUCTION

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 19.1 • INTRODUCTION

This chapter addresses takings law in Colorado.¹ Article II, § 15 of the Colorado Constitution states: "Private property shall not be taken or damaged, for public or private use, without just compensation." Similarly, Amendment V of the U.S. Constitution states, "[N]or shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." This chapter addresses both the state and federal clauses for two reasons. First, the Colorado Supreme Court generally interprets the Colorado takings clause parallel to federal interpretation of the United States takings clause. Second, plaintiffs often bring state and federal takings claims concurrently.

Takings law in practice encompasses two types of cases. The first is eminent domain, whereby a government body intentionally acquires land for a public purpose and pays just compensation to the owner. The second type of case is where the government takes some action that adversely affects the value of the landowner's land, usually by way of regulation. These cases are called inverse condemnation cases, or regulatory takings.

This chapter provides straightforward guidance for practitioners who are on either side of one of these two takings issues. Section 19.2 discusses procedural issues for both eminent domain and inverse condemnation cases. Section 19.3 discusses eminent domain proceedings, its general principles, how to meet or challenge the public purpose requirement, and how just compensation is determined. Section 19.4 addresses regulatory takings, the tests used to determine when a taking has occurred, recent changes in federal law with respect to one of those tests, and the resulting tension with state law that has not yet made a similar change. Section 19.5 discusses two...