Chapter 19: Takings Law in Colorado

This chapter addresses takings law in Colorado. Article II, § 15 of the Colorado Constitution states: “Private property shall not be taken or damaged, for public or private use, without just compensation.” Amendment V of the United States 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, for the most part the Colorado Supreme Court interprets the Colorado takings clause similarly to federal interpretation of the United States takings clause. Second, plaintiffs often bring state and federal takings claims at the same time.

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 practical guidance for practitioners who are on either side of one of these two issues.

§ 19.1 Introduction
§ 19.2 Procedural Issues
§ 19.3 Eminent Domain Takings
§ 19.4 Regulatory Takings
§ 19.5 Per Se Takings
§ 19.6 Exactions, Dedications, Taxes, and Fees
§ 19.7 The Damages Clause of the Colorado Constitution

JAN G. LAITOS, ESQ.
University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Jan G. Laitos holds the John A. Carver, Jr., Chair, and is the Director of the nationally ranked Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program at the Sturm College of Law. He is a Reporter for the Planning and Environmental Law Review, published by the American Planning Association, a regional board member of the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute, the Legal Analyst for KUSA 9News, and Trustee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. He was Vice Chair of the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission. In 1996, he was given the University of Denver’s Distinguished Teaching Award, and in 2005, he was selected a “DU Law Star.” Prior to joining the faculty at the law school, he was the law clerk to the Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court, and an attorney with the Office of Legal Counsel within the U.S. Department of Justice. He has written and had published nearly 40 law review articles on natural resources, environmental law, and protection of private property. He is the author of ten books, published by West, Foundation Press, and Aspen.


JAMES W. HART, ESQ.
University of Denver Sturm College of Law

James W. Hart graduated from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in May, 2006, where he received the Faculty Prize for graduating first in his class and the Melanie Hardaway Memorial Prize for the most outstanding graduate. His case comment, In Search of Tradition: Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, was chosen for publication by the Law Review. A classically trained violinist, Mr. Hart attended the Juilliard School, Oberlin Conservatory, and Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, where he received the Freidburg Chamber Music Prize. Mr. Hart has served as a violinist in the Colorado Symphony since 1991.