Parts shop doomed as RTD asserts rights
By Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published June 8, 2008 at 6:20 p.m.
Updated June 8, 2008 at 11:53 p.m.
Dave Crespin is frantically trying to sell off his inventory at BJ's Used Jeep Parts to squeeze what money he can from a business doomed by RTD's West Corridor light-rail plans.
Over the weekend, Crespin held a "Forced out of Business" sale at his nearly 20-year-old parts shop in Lakewood, dreading final notice from the Regional Transportation District to clear the site and bitter that the agency's plans will cut off access to his site, effectively killing his business.
"The people running (RTD), they don't have any respect - or anything - for the people along the line here. They don't even care," Crespin said, as he fretted over where he was going to store tens of thousands of dollars' worth of Jeep parts still on hand.
But an RTD spokeswoman Sunday said Crespin's business is caught up in an unfortunate crisis of access. RTD has allowed access to the property over its right of way for years. But now the agency needs the route for light rail.
"RTD for many years has kept that offer going, and we've allowed them to cross the tracks, which are our property, to have access to the (business)," said RTD spokeswoman Pauletta Tonilas. "Last July, we sent them a notification letter letting them know they were going to have to cease doing that."
Crespin's business, near 12th Avenue and Benton Street, depends on access from the north, off 12th Avenue, that will be cut off by the new rail line. Access from the south is blocked by Dry Creek Gulch. So even if his business were to remain, no customers could get to it.
Desperate to get his material cleared before RTD blocks access entirely, Crespin and his business partner, Brenda Perkovich, have unloaded $900,000 worth of used parts to a scrap metal recycler for about $10,000.
Losing a business that covers mortgage payments for Perko- vich and him, as well as health insurance, spells disaster.
"Dave is 72, I'm 61 - who's going to hire a 61-year-old or a 72-year-old?" Perkovich said.
Crespin said the property - split by the gulch - appraises at $340,000 and could go higher because an RTD park-and-Ride is planned nearby.
Tonilas said it doesn't appear RTD needs the property - just the right of way - and would get lambasted by critics if it spent taxpayer dollars on land it didn't require. In fact, she said, the business for years has encroached on RTD property near the tracks.
hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5048
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June 8, 2008
8:12 p.m.
Suggest removal
Scott writes:
Once again the Rancid-Transportation-District destroys another viable business.
Scott
June 8, 2008
10:09 p.m.
Suggest removal
EastVail writes:
Duh. Eminent domain. You should have paid attention in middle school.
June 9, 2008
12:01 a.m.
Suggest removal
BKindel writes:
This doesn't appear to be either of the above cases. The west 13th Ave right of way is VERY old; it hasn't seen inter-urban trolleys in over half a century, but the right-of-way has remained in place all that time. In the meantime, the neighbors have (like BJ's Used Jeep Parts) been given permission to cross it. RTD isn't taking anything that wasn't already theirs; they'll just be returning the line to service. The abutters may not like it, but RTD is acting within its rights and has not needed to exercise eminent domain to do so.
The reality is that the business in question never had a RIGHT to access across the railroad right-of-way. They could have been cut off at any time. Their time has simply run out.
June 9, 2008
8:15 a.m.
Suggest removal
Scott writes:
All,
Excuse me whilst I scrape the egg off of my face. I misread the article, hence my hosed up posting.
Scott
June 9, 2008
12:09 p.m.
Suggest removal
Depenbusch writes:
Two remedies are possible. RTD has allowed access over the ROW for years and need not block it now. RTD designs Light Rail lines to go over or under all streets or access ways they cross. Sheridan - only 2 blocks away- will need a similar solution to avoid conflict. The owner has accessed that land for years and access to land is protected by laws. If RTD denies them access on the north RTD may be obliged to build them a little bridge and culvert over the gulch to access the road to the south. If RTD cuts off all access to the north, they should buy the illegal lot.
June 9, 2008
1:37 p.m.
Suggest removal
SteveFesch writes:
Good to know RTD is asserting "their rights". Considering there are only a handful of businesses being run out of business you'd think RTD would actually work with the Crespins instead of destroying their lives. Why not give this family the ability to replace their business?
Ms Tonilas said RTD doesn't buy land they don't need? WHAT? Just a few weeks ago RTD announced they spent $15,000,000 on land they didn't need. Furthermore they are trying to steal my entire 15,000 sq/ft parcel by the Decatur station. They say they only need a couple thousand feet for drainage work yet they insist on taking it all. The funny thing is I'm surrounded by CITY owned land which will be OPEN SPACE. My tenant is losing their place of business and I'm losing my business to RTDeveopment.
I cannot wait to get to court and have a JURY of honest people deciding the fate of us land owners on the west corridor.
Oh forgot to mention there are 200 more families who are about to get their letter of condemnation. We'll see how many of them are needed for the project or maybe just maybe they might turn into Transit Oriented Development. Stay tuned Coloradoans. The truth will come out soon enough.
The revised figures for the voter approved $4.7 Billion Fast Tracks project will be coming out also. Right now they are at $6.2 Billion.
The Denver Regional Council of governments all ready warned us that that figure is still too low. My gut says RTDs original budget was less than half of what it will cost us in the end. Funny thing is they were just debating to close the G line last week. Building new light rail lines while closing lines that just opened? What is going on RTD?
Why aren't our elected officials (RTD BOARD OF DIRECTORS) speaking out and giving the tax payers the truth?
Hey RTD you are asserting your rights. What about private property rights in Colorado? Why not give us land owners, business owners, and home owners a chance to replace what we currently have instead of ruining lives like the Crespins?
June 9, 2008
5:42 p.m.
Suggest removal
warrengfunk7 writes:
Closing the G-line would result in any new tracks being closed. the G-lin is simply the train that runs from Lincoln/I-25 in the south to 9-Mile/I-225. It is a suburb-to-suburb line that will not have large ridership numbers until FasTracks extends the I-225 line all the way to I-70, where it will share a transfer station with the electric commuter rail line to DIA.
The completion of this line will be built as part of FasTracks, and will connect Denver's second largest employment center (The Denver tech Center), with Denver's largest city (Auria City Center), one of the countries largest biomedical complexes (Fitzsimmons), the countries largest urban infill project (Stapleton) and Denver International Airport -- altogether into a single transit corridor.
Surely you have enough since to see the importance of such a project, don't you Steve Fesch?