High court pulls reins on eminent domain

In a sharp rebuke to aggressive urban renewal authorities, the Colorado Supreme Court on Monday overturned Arvada's effort to condemn part of a lake for a Wal-Mart project.

The court said Arvada's urban renewal authority could not rely on a 1981 finding of blight to justify using eminent domain in an area that had been redeveloped since then.

"I think the court is sending a message to urban renewal authorities - you've gone too far," said Allan Hale, a Denver lawyer who specializes in eminent domain law. "The courts have not reined them in, until now."

The decision comes at a time when public protests over eminent domain abuses have prompted state legislators to draft bills that would severely restrict how governments can forcibly purchase property.

The Arvada lake case has been a rallying point, not only in the north Jefferson County town of 102,000, but also for dozens of poster-carrying protesters to hearings at the Capitol in recent weeks....