A church next to the T-REX project is entitled to damages because a large retaining wall and light- rail line block it from the view of motorists driving on Interstate 25, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
The Orchard Road Christian Center/Marilyn Hickey Ministries, at I-25 and Orchard Road, argued that by expanding the highway, building the light-rail line and erecting a 30-foot-high retaining wall, motorists couldn’t see the church and its 10-acre campus. That cut into its membership and financial base, church officials said. The church claimed a loss of $1.9 million.
The Colorado Department of Transportation condemned land about 20 feet wide and 500 feet long in November 2001 but denied it owed the church for loss of visibility from the highway.
The ruling could have a larger impact along the 19-mile T-REX line and as FasTracks plans at least six rail lines over the next 12 years.
Businesses along the T-REX project had waited for the ruling, said Malcolm Murray, a lawyer who represents a restaurant at I-25 and County Line Road.
J. Alexanders was affected by T-REX when a high retaining wall was built about 15 yards east of the restaurant. Murray said J. Alexanders never sued for loss of visibility because, during settlement negotiations, their appraiser and the state’s appraiser were close in their estimates of the damage to the restaurant. Murray said the settlement was about $500,000.
Currently, CDOT and the Centennial Promenade Shopping Center are locked in a heated court battle over compensation for loss of visibility. The center, which is across the street from J. Alexanders, contains well- known sports and electronics stores. It is seeking about $5 million.
Lawyer Leslie Fields represents the shopping center and Orchard Road Christian Center/Marilyn Hickey Ministries. She said visibility of property is very important “in terms of their value.
“We argued that this was not just a small, little neighborhood church. It is a Christian ministry,” Fields said. “It was extremely important to that church that they would have visibility from the highway to conduct all those operations and to build their membership.”
Robert Duncan, special assistant attorney general representing CDOT, argued that the church faced Orchard Road, not I-25, and that T-REX didn’t impair the ability of motorists on Orchard from viewing the church. The state also argued that the church was receiving an $844,000 benefit because of the construction of a light-rail station nearby.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeals said that where there is a partial taking of a landowner’s property, the landowner is entitled to compensation for injury to the remainder of the property. Here, the court said, it is undisputed that the retaining wall limits motorists’ views of the church from I-25. As a result, the church can show how it was damaged by the loss of visibility.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
