#Frisco #Colorado
The parcel of land known as the Fiester Preserve near Frisco.
Amid a dispute over a potential eminent domain action to develop open space next to the Bill’s Ranch neighborhood in Frisco, Summit County government is responding to several items of concerns raised by the Bill’s Ranch Neighborhood Association as the process moves forward.
On Tuesday, the Summit Board of County Commissioners directed county staff to find a way to extinguish a conservation easement on the 6.13 acre “Fiester Preserve” open space that separates the County Commons from Bill’s Ranch. The parcel is being contemplated to be developed into senior and workforce housing along with an assisted living facility. The easement is held by open space conservation nonprofit Colorado Open Lands, who have declined to negotiate the terms of the easement and vowed to fight to protect it.
The move angered some Bill’s Ranch residents who felt the county is making a land grab, destroying open space for more development and changing the character of a unique neighborhood that is already seeing radical change from population growth in the county. If the land gets developed, there will no longer be any buffer between Bill’s Ranch and the busy County Commons.
County Manager Scott Vargo has been tapped by the commissioners to take the lead on development of the plot of land by any means necessary. That can include eminent domain, the legal process by which courts allow the forceful purchase of private land by the state.
Considered a relatively drastic action, eminent domain receives high scrutiny by courts. When government wins an eminent domain action, it is because the court agrees it is justified because the land has a public use that far outweighs the principle of private property rights. The court then orders the property owner to sell the land to the government at a fair price.
