Department of Transp. v. Stapleton

• Decision Date: 13 September 2004
• Docket Number: No. 03SC616.,03SC616.
• Citation: 97 P.3d 938
• Parties: DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, State of Colorado, and Board of County Commissioners of Pitkin County, Petitioners v. Craig R. STAPLETON, Respondent.
• Court: Colorado Supreme Court

97 P.3d 938

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, State of Colorado, and Board of County Commissioners of Pitkin County, Petitioners v. Craig R. STAPLETON, Respondent.

No. 03SC616.

Supreme Court of Colorado, En Banc.

September 13, 2004.

Ken Salazar, Attorney General, Harry S. Morrow, First Assistant Attorney General, Jennifer L. Mele, Assistant Attorney General, Transportation Unit, Litigation Section, Denver, Colorado, Attorneys for Petitioner Department of Transportation State of Colorado.

John M. Ely, Pitkin County Attorney, Christopher G. Seldin, Assistant County Attorney, Aspen, Colorado, Attorneys for Petitioner Board of County Commissioners of Pitkin County.

Faegre & Benson, LLP, Leslie A. Fields, John R. Sperber, Patrick T. Madigan, M. Patrick Wilson, Denver, Colorado, Attorneys for Respondent.

Carolynne C. White, Denver, Colorado, John P. Worcester, City Attorney, Aspen, Colorado, Attorneys for Amicus Curiae Colorado Municipal League and City of Aspen, Colorado.

Justice RICE delivered the Opinion of the Court.

The Petitioners, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Board of County Commissioners of Pitkin County (the "County"), seek review of the court of appeals' decision that they each lack statutory authority to condemn property owned by the Respondent, Craig R. Stapleton. Because we find that CDOT has the necessarily implied statutory authority to condemn the property at issue, we reverse.

I. Facts and Proceedings Below

This case arises out of a condemnation action in which the trial court awarded the Petitioners immediate possession of property owned by the Respondent and located near the Buttermilk Ski Area outside the city of Aspen. The Petitioners had brought a joint condemnation action in which they sought to acquire certain parcels for their independent but overlapping needs.

Prior to the condemnation action, CDOT and the County had entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) which addressed various long-term and short-term needs of both CDOT and the County. In particular, the IGA covered the reconstruction of State Highway 82, which included a partial expansion from two lanes to four lanes and consolidation of the three existing accesses to the highway into one single access point. The project further provided that Highway 82 would remain as a two-lane highway at a point outside of Aspen, across from the Buttermilk Ski Area. Ultimately, the Petitioners also hoped to construct a light-rail transit and parking facility for approximately 750 cars, at the point where the highway reverts to two lanes, in order to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion into the city of Aspen.¹ CDOT claimed that the proposed parking and transit facility would satisfy federal Clean Air Act requirements and that such compliance was necessary in order to secure federal funding for the overall Highway 82 project. The County added that the facility would also serve as an intercept lot for visitors to Aspen and would provide parking for and access to a large public trail system owned by the County.

After the condemnation action was filed, the Petitioners and the Respondent reached a stipulated agreement regarding certain parcels to be used for the Highway 82 expansion, county road relocation, airport runway zones, open space, and wetland replacement and mitigation. However, the Respondent continued to challenge the authority of CDOT and the County to condemn the remaining parcels for the purpose of constructing the parking and transit facility. The trial court held an immediate possession hearing with regard to the remaining disputed parcels, at which time the court addressed whether the Petitioners had legal authority to condemn the property; whether the property was being acquired for predominately public purposes; whether good faith negotiations had been conducted prior to the filing of the condemnation action; and whether the Petitioners had an immediate need to take possession of the property. At the hearing, the trial court heard testimony from CDOT's project manager regarding the need for the property within the context of the Highway 82 project, as well as from a former County Manager regarding the County's overlapping need for the property as an intercept lot and as an access point to the County's recreational trail system. Following the hearing, the trial court issued an order detailing findings of fact and conclusions of law. In particular, the court concluded that CDOT possessed legal authority to condemn the property for parking and transit purposes, stating:

While it is true that none of the statutes relied upon by petitioners expressly grant a right to condemn for parking purposes, the evidence establishes that transit parking is required to comply with the Clean Air Act. Without compliance with the Clean Air Act, the project cannot be done. The Department of Transportation has the power to condemn for highway purposes. Where the parking is a required element of highway construction, the right to condemn for parking must therefore be necessarily implied.

Thus, the trial court ruled that CDOT had the implied statutory authority to condemn the parcels for a transit and parking facility. Having found that CDOT possessed authority for the condemnation, the trial court did not reach the issue of whether the County had its own implied authority to condemn the property.

After the immediate possession hearing, the Respondent sought extraordinary relief with this Court pursuant to C.A.R. 21, which was denied. Subsequently, the trial court held a valuation hearing in order to determine the amount of compensation owed to the Respondent. After a final order was issued, the Respondent appealed the trial court's ruling to the court of appeals. Specifically, the Respondent challenged the trial court's findings that CDOT possessed legal authority to condemn the property, that the property was being acquired for a public purpose, that the condemnation was necessary, and that the Petitioners had negotiated in good faith prior to the condemnation.

The court of appeals reversed the trial court, ruling that neither CDOT nor the County had statutory authority to condemn the property for a parking and transit facility. See Dep't of Transp. v. Stapleton, 81 P.3d 1105 (Colo.App.2003). The court of appeals ruled, as pertinent here, that parking and transit facilities did not fall within the purview of CDOT's authority to condemn for "state highway purposes" pursuant to section 43-1-208(3), 11 C.R.S. (2003), nor could CDOT condemn the property as a remainder pursuant to section 43-1-210(1), 11 C.R.S. (2003). Stapleton, 81 P.3d at 1107-08. Additionally, the court of appeals found that the County lacked authority to condemn the property as necessary for "recreational facilities" under section 29-7-104, 9 C.R.S. (2003). Stapleton, 81 P.3d at 1109. Thus, the court of appeals held that the Petitioners lacked any statutory authority to condemn the disputed parcels. This appeal followed.²

We granted certiorari to address whether either or both of the Petitioners have the statutory authority to condemn the disputed property in order to construct a parking and transit facility.³ We now find that CDOT's authority to condemn land for "state highway purposes" under section 43-1-208(3) includes the authority to condemn lands adjacent to a state highway for the construction of a parking and transit facility that is an integral part of a broader state highway improvement project. Because CDOT's implied statutory authority to condemn the disputed parcels is sufficient to support the condemnation action before us, we do not reach the issue of whether the County also possesses statutory authority to condemn the same property. We therefore reverse the decision of the court of appeals insofar as it held that CDOT lacked statutory authority to condemn the disputed parcels pursuant to section 43-1-208(3), and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

II. Analysis

We have long held that in Colorado the power of eminent domain lies dormant in the state until the legislature speaks. Potashnik v. Pub. Serv. Co., 126 Colo. 98, 101, 247 P.2d 137, 138 (1952). Accordingly, a party may not condemn private property without demonstrating that the taking has been statutorily authorized, either expressly or implicitly. See State Dep't of Highways v. Denver and Rio Grande W. R.R. Co., 789 P.2d 1088, 1092 (Colo.1990) (holding that the Department of Highways did not have statutory authority to condemn a private way of necessity over railroad tracks on behalf of a landlocked ranch operator). Thus, in order for the Petitioners to condemn the Respondent's property, they must demonstrate that either CDOT or the County has been expressly or implicitly authorized by statute to condemn the disputed parcels. Buck v. Dist. Court, 199 Colo. 344, 347, 608 P.2d 350, 352 (1980) ("Private property may not be condemned, even for a purpose which is judicially determined to be a public use within the meaning of Colo. Const. Art. II, Sec. 15, in the absence of express or necessarily implied statutory condemnation authority."). Here, both CDOT and the County concede that condemnation of this property to construct a parking and transit facility is not expressly authorized by any statute, but instead argue that their authority to condemn the Respondent's property is necessarily implied. Consequently, in order to resolve this action, we must determine the scope of condemnation authority implicitly granted by the legislature through the relevant statutes.

A. Doctrine of Necessary Implication

To begin, we note that "narrow construction is the rule in determining the scope of the condemnation power delegated pursuant to legislative enactment." Coquina Oil Corp. v. Harry Kourlis Ranch, 643 P.2d 519, 522 (Colo.1982) (finding that a federal oil and gas lessee could not condemn private property for private use as a right-of-way...