State supreme court: Telluride can condemn Valley Floor

TELLURIDE — The town of Telluride has the right as a home-rule municipality to condemn the Valley Floor, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled today.

According to a news release from the town government, the state high court affirmed, on a 6-1 vote, Telluride's rights.

The San Miguel Valley Corporation claimed the town didn't have the right to exercise eminent domain and therefore illegally pursued the purchase of the Valley Floor. A local district court found in 2004 held that Telluride, as a home-rule municipality, is protected under the state constitution to pursue eminent domain.

The state supreme court ruling today is the latest action in a protracted legal battle. Last February, a Delta jury set the value of the Valley Floor at $50 million. The town then began intense fund-raising efforts to purchase the land.

"At issue was...a law passed for the benefit of the landowner, known as the Telluride Amendment, or House Bill 1203," the news release said. "The Telluride Amendment attempted to impose a prohibition on the extraterritorial condemnation for open space by Colorado home-rule municipalities."

But the state high court found that amendment conflicted with the Colorado Constitution, which allows municipalities to condemn outside their boundaries for public purposes,

Telluride Mayor Stu Fraser said in the news release the town was "very pleased" with the decision.

The town plans to preserve the Valley Floor as open space and to implement a conservation easement.