Barrie Case Of Eminent Domain Settled.

Colo. eminent domain case settled with $115,000 sale

By Faith Mangan

Published April 16, 2014

FoxNews.com

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File: Colorado cabin owned by Ceil and Andy BarrieFOX NEWS

Breckenridge, Colo. - A contentious eminent domain case in which a local government sought to take private backcountry land for open space has been settled, with the landowners agreeing to a $115,000 sale.

"To me, what just came out of it is, you can't win, you can't fight the government," landowner Ceil Barrie said Wednesday.

She and her husband, Andy, owned ten acres of land perched at 11,000 feet elevation in Breckenridge. The property, with breathtaking views, was a private patch of land surrounded by White River National Forest. 

An old, uninhabited day-use cabin, an outhouse and a shuttered gold mine sit on it.

The Barries’ legal troubles began when they worked to access their personal paradise with a utility vehicle.  They traveled on an old mining road dating back to the 1880s and said the county did not even know about the road until they made them aware of it. 

The county asked to buy the land, but the Barries did not want to part with their piece of "Colorado heaven."

So Summit County condemned it, filed for eminent domain and petitioned for immediate possession. 

Summit County, which refused interviews, said in a statement Wednesday it acquired the property for $115,000 in a voluntary settlement, following court-ordered mediation.  Ceil Barrie told Fox News the monetary figure just covered the couple’s legal bills and some of the land's value. 

She said they had every intention of taking the case to court, but the fight got to be too expensive. "The cabin was condemned on the grounds of plumbing and electricity when it doesn't even have plumbing or electricity,” she said.  “All those things added up in my mind... this is ridiculous, we can never win and our money is not unlimited. I have two kids in college this year."

The Barries said  the slim odds laid out by a mediation judge also influenced them to settle.

"The judge, who was the mediator, basically told us, 'You're fighting Summit County, in the Summit County Courthouse with a Summit County jury and a Summit County judge that has to be re-elected by Summit County voters in November, you're not going to win'," said Ceil Barrie.

According to the county's statement, the deal "...will halt... repeated motorized travel in this region, which includes biologically sensitive public lands designated as non-motorized... The purchase will also put an end to the various commercial activities..." 

The landowners said they never went off road and never had plans to build on the property. 

They also have a different view on the "commercial activities" cited by the county. Andy Barrie would rake up fallen pine cones for his Christmas wreath business and cart them back to his home in a subdivision below. At one point, they also had the shuttered mine examined for minerals. 

Andy Barrie recently held a property rights seminar for landowners.  Asked what lessons they shared, Ceil Barrie said with teary eyes, "Yeah, don't annoy the government."

Seizure Of Private Property Becoming A National Problem.

Government Wants Mountain Cabin – So They Take It, Kick Owners Out

Nevada is not the only state where governments are trying to seize private property. It’s also happening high up in the mountains of Colorado.

Andy and Ceil Barrie bought a small century-old cabin on 10 acres of land in Summit County two years ago. Their property is surrounded by open space and the views are breathtaking. While they have no plans to develop the land, the local government is now using eminent domain to seize the Barrie’s property.

Eminent domain is typically only used in cases where roads or railroads are built. So why does the government want the Barrie’s cabin? They claim that use of the old mountain road that leads to the Barrie’s cabin poses a threat to the wildlife. They also claim they need the cabin to protect open space.

To accomplish its goals, the government condemned the Barrie’s cabin, citing electrical and plumbing problems, ignoring the fact that the Barrie’s cabin is a day-use cabin that has no electricity or running water in the first place.

The Barrie’s have already spent $75,000 in an effort to keep their cabin, but with the force of government against them, it seems unlikely they will win.

While there has been no standoff with the government or confiscation of livestock, it is extremely concerning that governments around the country are ignoring private property rights and simply taking whatever land they want.

How long will this kind of out-of-control behavior go until Americans have had enough?

CONFIRMED: It is now confirmed that the Barrie’s have lost their cabin and 10-acre parcel of land. They “accepted a $115,000 offer from Summit County to purchase the property. According to Ceil, the voluntary settlement amount, entered into after court-ordered mediation, only covers the legal expenses involved with fighting the eminent domain seizure and some small land value.”