By Jane Reuter, Colorado Group Media
Lots of of Boulder County owners have filed a lawsuit in opposition to Jefferson County, claiming “inverse condemnation” linked to the impacts of Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport.
Jefferson County owns and operates the airport.
The go well with, filed in Boulder County District Court docket final month, seeks compensation for owners within the Rock Creek neighborhood who’ve been “disadvantaged of the use and delight of their houses and properties.”
Inverse condemnation is a authorized treatment pursued by property house owners when a governmental entity takes an motion that damages or decreases the worth of personal property with out acquiring possession by means of eminent area.
Jefferson County responded by saying it doesn’t touch upon pending litigation, based on the county’s Director of Public Affairs Cassie Pearce.
Legal professional Sean Metherell, whose agency Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath is representing the greater than 400 owners, mentioned it’s untimely to remark.
“Jefferson County was simply served at this time (Dec. 27), though it was filed final week,” he mentioned. “We’re not making any feedback presently.”
The go well with, filed Dec. 21, is constructed round long-simmering points, partially aired in a Could 2022 district court docket ruling.
The go well with alleges that the county permits flight operations — or avigation, the authorized time period — over properties, although it doesn’t have avigation easements or different authorized rights to take action. An avigation easement is an easement or proper of overflight within the airspace above or close to a selected property.
The go well with says these authorized agreements have been in place at one time, however a rise in airport operations “overburdened these prior easements,” and 9 of the unique 29 easements have been terminated by a district court docket decide. Regardless of that, “the county has continued its airport operations as if the terminated easements have been nonetheless in full authorized drive and impact.”
That’s created extreme noise, vibrations, air pollution and different points for owners, based on the criticism, together with publicity to leaded gasoline. The airport introduced in October plans to start phasing out its use of leaded gasoline.
Whereas neighboring property house owners mentioned then that RMMA’s accelerated timeline on switching fuels wouldn’t have occurred with out their urging, former Airport Director Paul Anslow mentioned that assertion was “completely not true.”
Anslow abruptly left his publish in late November, and within the wake of his departure, half of the RMMA advisory board resigned.
