RTD has notified 164 more private property owners in the west light-rail corridor that it needs portions of their land for the $707 million train line.
The Regional Transportation District already has notified 16 property owners that the agency needs their entire properties, but for most of the new acquisitions, RTD needs only a portion of the land, said Pauletta Tonilas, spokeswoman for the FasTracks transit expansion.
The West line is the first that RTD will be build under FasTracks. The agency also needs land or easements from 16 public entities for the west line.
In documents released on Friday, RTD said it needs 1,848 square feet, or about 12.7 percent, of Ruby Griffin’s property at 1255 Dudley Street in Lakewood.
Griffin, who’s lived there for 45 years, said she doesn’t know what RTD’s land taking will do to a masonry wall she has that separates her property from the West 13th Avenue right of way where the train line will be constructed.
“What will they do to replace it or will they leave my property open?” Griffin asked.
She said RTD told property owners they will get more information from the agency within the next 30 to 90 days.
RTD said it needs 257 square feet of John Belt’s property on West 13th near Carr Street.
“If they take four feet from my fence toward my house it will significantly impact me,” Belt said, about possibly losing a strip of land. “I’m very confused and in a state of turmoil until they tell me more.”
“Generally speaking, the train is a good thing,” he said. “But I’ve been attending every meeting I’ve been notified of and I can’t get a straight answer. This is the first inkling I’ve had that they are coming this close and taking my property.”
The West corridor train will largely run in the 13th Avenue corridor through Denver and Lakewood to Oak Street where it will turn south and head to the Federal Center. From there, it will run along West 6th Avenue to the Jefferson County Government Center in Golden.
RTD said it needs 758 square feet of Virginia Viskup’s property on McIntyre Street near West 7th Avenue in unincorporated Jefferson County.
“I want to know how far they’re going to come in,” Viskup said about RTD’s planned acquisition of a portion of her land. She’s lived at the location for 37 years.
Viskup is concerned that she might lose a line of pine trees on her property that act as a barrier to the noise from 6th Avenue. She’s also worried she could lose income she gets from a billboard company that rents a portion of her property for the sign.
“I see no reason why they sent out silly letters that tell me nothing and make me upset for 30 to 90 days before they tell me what they’re going to do,” she said.
Jeffrey Leib: 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com
