Sketch Updates
Posted on December 3, 2007 by Me
As per reader feedback, we have added details to the following image. This sketch outlines the location of our property in relation to the RTD project. You will see that our parcel is quite a distance from the LightRail station, the tracks DO NOT go through our property and they do not require our entire parcel in order to complete the project.
Click here to view full-size image.
The updated satellite image shows our parcel in relation to our neighbors. You will see that we are the only private property owners in the area. There is plenty of RTD, Denver and Invesco land to where we shouldn’t be the only once losing land in the road-widening project.
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It is beyond me why RTD would need the entire space when only 40 sq. feet is required for building. This has certainly opened up my eyes on goverment power in regards to private land. Best of luck to you Steve, and everyone else affected.
That illustration sure shows a green and burgundy, but yet they want to destroy the small privately held orange piece. Seems to me there would be a fair and equitable way to appease the land owner, Mr. Fesch in this case, and the RTD as well. The only reason that RTD wants to condemn the whole property is to flip the parcel to a private developer or perhaps partner with the developer and make a profit off of Mr. Fesch’s parcel.
Hey Steve,
I think this whole emminent domain thing is bunk. I would not put it past the Invesco Field hierarchy to influence the RTD because of past conflict. This is similar to what the British did before we booted them out. Absolutely rubbish. All government entities are filled with people who cannot give you the truth. Liars, simply, liars.
Good luck my friend and I will always remember our good times and OF1.
I will fight to help prevent this in anyway possible. RTD doesn’t need your land. They are lying through their teeth.
Mike
aka Crawdad
Looking at the map, it certainly appears that the road would be straighter if the widening project used the land that already belongs to the city of Denver across the street from the Fesch parcel…
Yeah Denver talked about a grid road system for the area at the last planning meeting. If they really want a grid that curved road would run straight south thru their land. They could build a nice standard intersection like everywhere else around town.
It’s common sense Darla. You get it. Please spread the word.
Mr Fesch,
While I support your fight to find alternatives to any government agency from seizing your land, I have to say I find your methods offensive and misleading.
I witnessed your comments to the Lakewood City Council this evening, and as a result, checked out your website, and my own sources of information when I returned home. My first objection to your methods was wasting Lakewood City council time for property within the city limits of Denver. Yes, the FasTracks West corridor will serve Lakewood, however, unless it completely blocks a transit structure the city of Lakewood seriously needs, the Lakewood City Council cannot address your specific situation.
Secondly, you alluded to RTD being able to use the other side of the street without having to affect your property at all - but you also fail to mention the fact that the Lakewood Gulch runs down the other side of that street, seriously complicating what you outline as a “simple” solution.
I beleive you can come to an equitable agreement with RTD, and I beleive you should continue to fight for your rights as a property owner. However, I do ask you that you be a little more honest and focused in your efforts to do so.
Well “Chris” thanks for the time to stop by the site but if you really want to speak honestly why not start off by stating your WHO you are.
Secondly, this IGA does concern me and does effect me because the more governments that assist in RTDs land grabbing the more difficult it gets for me to protect my property rights and I’m concerned about property rights for other people in the front range.
Your problem Chris is you do not have all the information. RTD has already said that they do not rule out commercial/retail development on land taken. Read some of the articles on my blog. It’s there in black and white. This IGA was passed under the assumption that land taken is for RIGHT OF WAY. With only 16 pieces of land under eminent domain so far I can already tell you not all of them have been taken for that. IE Galen Fosters (Pro Tint).
They were first told it was being taken so RTD could store materials. Plenty of quotes from RTD on my blog about that. Then they changed the story to a parking garage. I even heard at an RTD board meeting that the “air rights” could be used for commercial development.
As far as my land is concerned your statement is also false. I’ve been at this for 3.5 months and what I say comes from RTD. They flat out told me that they would look into doing the drainage work and road widening project on Denver’s property. The gulch is being realigned. Why would they tell me this if this wasn’t even feasible?
Sorry Pal but the water from lakewood gutch doesn’t collect on my 15,000 sq feet of property. Taking my little piece of land does not change the drainage dynamics of the entire area.
What is going on is a LAND GRAB Chris. RTD hasn’t tried to seize the rest of the land around me. Why not? Because it’s GOVERNMENT owned land. They targeted mine because they could.
Only after I started bringing the truth out in the media did the come to the table to talk. Well I agreed to sit down with them talk. We did and that is when they agreed to consider doing their improvements on land other than mine.
However now they are saying that the City of Denver and the Urban Drainage Committee doesnt’ want to meet with me because I have a lawyer. I’ve taken steps to research this.
Meanwhile I have another meeting with the directors of RTD tomorrow.
For the 1,000 time I do not want to stop the progress of light rail. My land isn’t even in the path of light rail and there are CHEAPER alternatives to taking my land if RTD and Denver would cooperate but what I’m learning is the only cooperation going on is them working together to take private property owners out instead of using land owned by the government already that is available for improvements.
Also for the record Denver and RTD haven’t even agreed on a light rail station stop location for the area yet they plan on confiscating land by the Spring of next year?
Does that sound right to you Chris?
Stick around Chris and learn some fact. I appreciate you coming by my blog. You are going to here ALOT more of this on Tom Martino, KOA, Denver Daily News, Rocky Mountain news as they have ALL been waiting on updates from me.
I took a break for the holidays as did RTD. I was told during that time they would try and work things out. We’ll see if that happens tomorrow.
Chris do you realize the sketches I have posted in this blog are only 65% complete? Why have plans completed before land is taken? Just one of 500 questions I will throw to you if you have the GUTS to stick around and accuse me of being a LIAR again.
Oh and do me a favor and please state your full name and address for the record. Its what the government asks me to do when I speak to them and I kindly agree.
I don’t know what your agenda is Chris but my gut says you aren’t concerned about private property rights in Colorado like me. There are third parties who are going to capitalize on land taken by RTD. Are you one of them?
Steve Fesch
Who exactly I am and where I live is not something I’m willing to post on a public forum, however, should I run into you at one of the Fastracks meetings or another Lakewood City meeting, I will be sure to introduce myself to you. Or contact me via the email address I am required to provide you, and we can discuss it.
I was at the Lakewood city council meeting for another reason, and I actually intended to leave much earlier, however, I stuck around specifically to hear you speak. Of the people who spoke, you had a much more legitimate claim and argument than some of the other stupid theatrics I witnessed, which is why I even bothered to come back home and do any research at all on your specific case, and post my thoughts to you, as well as write my RTD board rep for their comments on several specific points you raise on the website here.
I’m not accusing you of being a liar, I’m saying that I find some of your tactics offensive and disrespectful - frankly, I think you are undermining your own case. Half truths and partial disclosure are offensive coming from you or RTD, or anyone else for that matter.
First of all, your fight is with RTD and the city of Denver, and I support you in that fight. But as I said before, the City of Lakewood cannot help your specific case except by pulling out of the West Corridor deal altogether. Had you stepped forward and spoken specifically of the case of the Fosters, or the Crespins, who’s properties ARE within Lakewood, and made comparisons to the situation with your property, I would not have called you on that specific point.
The other issue was the half truth of the lakewood gulch running on the other side of the street from your property. I’ve read through your entire site, (with the exception of the comment sections), and nowhere until now that I’ve brought it up do you mention that using the city land across the street would require the RTD and/or City of Denver to deal with that gulch.
Upon seeing that gulch there, it became obvious to me why RTD wants your property instead of the city’s - so they don’t have to deal with the gulch at all, because like you said, your property doesn’t affect the drainage, while the city’s property might throw some complications in the plans.
Do I agree with the RTD on that - NO. But you make it sound as if RTD wants your land specifically because it’s private property without acknowledging the other factor. That makes me ask myself - how many other factors is Mr Fresch not disclosing that he knows about? So how about instead of failing to mention things like that, bring them out? I’m not saying you’re hiding anything else, however, when someone like myself can do some simple research and discover that unspoken fact for themselves, something you don’t disclose, well, it makes me suspicious. Lay ALL the facts on the table, no matter how insignificant they seem - you’ll get more support. You’re the victim here, the truth can’t hurt you - right?
Another example of your failure to disclose information is this website and claims that lie outside of your own porperty. You mention the issues of the Crespin’s and Foster’s, but fail to back them all up with any more than a handful of facts. I wasn’t even able to positively identify the Foster property online last night - I have a good idea of where it is, but no facts to back up my hunch. Since you’re fighting for them too (or say you are,) why not provide the facts for them as well, or at least link to them? You said at the city council meeting last night that I could visit your website for ALL the facts and data, you accuse me in your own reply of not having all the facts. Well, Mr Fresch, ALL the facts certainly aren’t here, either, any more than they are at the DRCOG or RTD websites.
As I said above - I beleive you can come to an equitable agreement with RTD, and I beleive you should continue to fight for your rights as a property owner. However, I do ask you that you be a little more honest and focused in your efforts to do so. You’ll gain far more support that way, I stand behind your basic fight., but I disagree with the methods I’ve personally witnessed you use. Attacking me because I disagree with your methods does little to endear me to you
I’m sorry you feel that I must obviously not be as concerned a citizen as you are regarding property rights, since I don’t agree with your tactics and I don’t care to disclose my full name and address on a website outside of my control and normal privacy policies. It’s easy to accuse me of calling you a liar (I did not, I merely pointed out a half truth - big difference) and of being a third party developer (simply because I didn’t give my full name? I wouldn’t expect you to on my blog). Truth is I’m a concerned citizen who appreciates the truth more than theatrics and accusations.
Now let me tell you what my gut says about you. My gut says that you aren’t hiding anything on purpose, that you truly want to work things out in a win-win situation for you, Denver, RTD and the other communities and parties involved with this deal. But it also says that you’ve become so emotionally involved with this issue that you’re starting to lose perspective and are willing to attack anyone who disagrees with your chosen method of “fighting city hall.” Frankly, I lost a lot of respect for you and your fight in your response to me - you could have left out the personal attacks on me, and made your point far more effectively. That is exactly the type of thing that I find offense and disrespectul. Despite that, I still back you in your fight for your property.
Chris,
I’ve been real busy lately and will respond in great detail soon. In the meantime I want to say I appreciate your concern and encourage you to keep speaking your mind. However there is information that you don’t have and I’m still getting it also.
Plenty of news to come soon.