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A Brighton vegetable farm that began operations as the Great Depression settled over the country 95 years ago says it will have to close shop if a residential developer takes possession of a swath of its land through eminent domain.
The Parkland Metropolitan District No. 1, which is overseeing the development of the 140-acre Bromley Farms neighborhood at the southeast corner of East Bromley Lane and Chambers Road, filed a “Petition in Condemnation” in Adams County District Court last month. It says the developer needs to build a “regional drainage outfall” — complete with pipelines, culverts, manholes, and inlets — on a portion of Palizzi Farm for its project.
Jack Hoagland is Parkland’s president and chair and is also listed as the owner of Bromley Farms on subdivision plan documents filed with Brighton.
In its April 3 court filing, attorneys for Parkland argued that to move ahead with building Bromley Farms in “a timely manner,” the metro district “requires and is entitled to immediate possession of the Subject Property” under state condemnation law.
A hearing on the eminent domain claim is scheduled for Monday in an Adams County courtroom.
Palizzi Farms, nestled between a grocery store, a strip mall and residential neighborhoods, is seen here at their location on the 15000 block of East Bromley Lane in an image from September 2023, in Brighton, Colorado. (Screenshot via Google Maps)
On the Save Palizzi Farm website, the consequences of such a claim prevailing are laid out in stark terms.
“This action would force the closure of the Palizzi farm stand located on Bromley Lane because 90% of the produce sold there is grown on the farm,” the website states. “Palizzi Farm would lose the entirety of the crops already planted, will have to pay the workers hired for the entire season, and be unable to supply the five different summer farmers markets it attends every year.”
It participates in farmers markets in Evergreen, Parker and Denver during the warm months. Monday’s decision, the farm said on its website, “will determine the fate of the 2024 farming season and ultimately the ability of Palizzi Farm to operate their produce farm in the future.”
Palizzi Farm, which started growing vegetables and plants in 1929, is at the northern edge of what has been dubbed Splendid Valley — a 5,000-acre area of mostly fertile farmland in Adams County south of Brighton dedicated to preserving Colorado’s agricultural past.
Owner Debora Palizzi didn’t return calls for comment and lawyers representing the farm declined to speak about the case. The Parkland Metro District and its lawyers wouldn’t comment for this story either.
In a motion to dismiss the condemnation attempt filed with the court on April 30, lawyers for Palizzi Farm said Parkland “has not negotiated in good faith with respondents.”
“Other practicable routes are available that would not damage Respondent-Landowner’s property to the extent of the chosen route,” the motion reads. “Petitioner chose a route through the middle of Respondent-Landowner’s property knowing that it will cause extensive damage that could be avoided.”
The motion accuses Parkland of choosing the Palizzi Farm for its stormwater infrastructure not to serve a public interest, but “to save the developer money.” Lawyers for the metro district countered in a court filing of its own that it has made multiple offers to acquire the property “but was unable to reach a voluntary agreement to acquire the Subject Property.”
In a brief filed late last week, Parkland’s attorneys said the district offered Palizzi Farm $55,000 for easements on the property for its drainage project but that the offer was rejected. It then put $300,000 on the table and that too was rejected, according to the brief.
The metro district justifies its eminent domain action by saying the stormwater work “is necessary for the public health, safety, and welfare of the property owners and future residents” of Bromley Farms.
Eminent domain, which allows governments to take private property for public use — while providing just compensation to the property owner — has a colorful history in Colorado. It nearly always inflames the passions of private property advocates, who often claim it is a form of government overreach.
Several eminent domain actions — or threats of it — have arisen in recent years, including a dispute last year in which Denver threatened to condemn property belonging to a church camp in Coal Creek Canyon to establish access to a 448-acre ranch that had been donated to the city as a mountain park in 2021. Eminent domain was used a few months earlier in Thornton, when a court awarded a long dilapidated shopping center to the city, which is now cleaning up contamination at the site in preparation for the center’s demolition in the coming months.
As a metro district, Parkland qualifies as a quasi-municipal corporation and political subdivision of the state. In 2019, the Colorado Supreme Court broadened eminent domain powers in ruling that a municipal district — not simply an official government body — could condemn land as long as it was done for public benefit.
“The Colorado Constitution requires that condemnation benefit the public, but it doesn’t prohibit a private party from also benefiting,” the court ruled.
In September, Brighton City Council approved a metro district service plan with Parkland that allows the use of eminent domain to obtain easements for underground infrastructure. A spokeswoman for Brighton, Kristen Chernosky, said “stormwater improvements prevent flooding from storms and move the water to the South Platte River. This has been planned as a necessary improvement for at least four decades.”
But for Palizzi Farm, the end is in sight if Parkland Metro District gets its way on Monday. No more presence at farmers markets and goodbye to its Corn and Chile Festival on Labor Day weekend.
“AND ALL OF THIS WILL COME TO AN END if the City of Brighton and Parkland Metropolitan District No. 1 have their way with land that does not belong to them,” the farm said on its website.
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