"One of the Most Dangerous Ballot Measures...": Foote Against 74

BOULDER, CO - Mike Foote drew his line in the sand - ideally harming no one else's property in the process - and spoke out against a proposed law that would give legal recourse to property owners if state action caused a reduction in property value. Foote, the statehouse representative for House District 12, which includes Louisville, Lafayette, and parts of Longmont, came down strongly against the measure in an op-ed for the Daily Camera this weekend, calling it "one of the most dangerous ballot measures we have seen in Colorado for long time."

Amendment 74 seeks to require that property owners be compensated if any reduction in their property value were caused by state laws or regulations. The measure is backed by The Committee for Colorado's Shared Heritage with major funding by the Colorado Farm Bureau. Proponents say the amendment will prevent expanded setback requirements for oil and gas drilling from stripping property owners of the ability to profit from their own mineral rights.

Save Our Neighborhoods opposes the measure, along with the Colorado Municipal League and Conservation Colorado. According to official opponent The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, "This proposal locks new policy in our constitution that is vague, broad and full of unintended consequences."

Foote argues against what he calls a "legal free-for-all" that would slow down necessary development and construction and make the lawyers of the state very busy. "Who wants a liquor store next to a school or a chemical plant next to a hospital? If a developer does and the city says no, prepare for a lawsuit," he wrote. "Will complying with a noise ordinance cost a developer any money? A county must either not enforce its ordinance or lose a lawsuit."

Read Foote's Camera op-ed here.

Learn more about the ballot initiative here.

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