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Eminent Domain in the 21st Century?

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  • Member since
    April 2007
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Posted by Convicted One on Sunday, May 23, 2021 12:33 PM

You see what I'm saying though, right?  The reality could be anything from soup to nuts.  From a neighbor having legitimate interests who feels BNSF has not tendered a fair offer, all the way to some opportunist bent upon exploiting his "half acre" for unconscionable gain.

More specifics in the story would have made it more valuable to the reader.

The buyer frequently tends to discount the current value of land not contributing to their ambition.  What appears to be no more than "50 acres of scrub" to the buyer, might be the only grazing land adjacent to the ranch from the seller's perspective.(just a generalization)

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Posted by Overmod on Sunday, May 23, 2021 11:54 AM

BNSF bought over $15 million in land (over 1440 acres) in unincorporated Weld County toward the end of 2020, with the intent of expanding the scope of the "logistics park" at Hudson.  It is possible they did this even knowing that certain 'holdout' owners, as at Sanger, would try to hold up buildout of the expansion -- MC can discuss how eminent domain becomes easier for developers with extensive 'skin in the game' and ability to get things done.

It is also possible that BNSF would rather prefer not discussing strategy, and Newswire's source is doing some muckraking.  I doubt the current standard of journalism at the Newswire would pick up on this.

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Eminent Domain in the 21st Century?
Posted by Convicted One on Sunday, May 23, 2021 11:11 AM

I was reading the newswire story about BNSF's quest to expand it's Hudson Colorado logistics center. Interesting, but the story seemed absent relevant details that would have made it seem more informative, and less the "teaser" that it was.

They mention the need to employ eminent domain to unseat  "holdout" owners who were not onboard with their ambitions. It would have given a more meaningful experience if the story had given more particulars describing the "hold out" parcels.   I mean are we talking about 100 acres smack dab in the middle, stubbornly holding out to take advantage of the situation? Or are we talking about  competing interests? Or even perhaps big business ambitions to crush a family homestead? The story was woefully lacking in details.

At the very least the story could have quantified "most" as well as "remaining" in terms of the land area involved.

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