BY MEGAN SCHRADER
MSCHRADER@DENVERPOST.COM / @MEGANSCHRADER

Burnham Yard and the privately owned properties surrounding it certainly don't seem blighted to me, which is inconvenient for the ownership team of the Denver Broncos, who could be looking for millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies for a new stadium. A blight designation also could give the developer a path to use the power of eminent domain to take private property from unwilling sellers. There is a difference between something being blighted and it simply being industrial — which is what most of the land surrounding Burnham Yards is zoned. The old, abandoned railroad facilities may be blighted, but it's hard to see how an active cement plant and other open and operating businesses in the area are "blight" when they are creating jobs and paying taxes.

The Denver Broncos pledged to build their stadium without any taxpayer dollars. Still, now Denver's Urban Renewal Authority (DURA) has informed residents, business and land owners that it will conduct a blight study. Blight is the first step DURA takes when it is looking to grant tax increment financing deals that allow a developer to not pay property taxes on their new development for as long as 30 to 40 years, depending on the deal. The Broncos' owners can afford to pay taxes on their new stadium, and Denver will need the increased revenue to provide services to the massive mixed-use development proposed at Burnham Yard.

The other risk with the finding of blight is that DURA could use eminent domain to force unwilling landowners to sell. The use of eminent domain to benefit a private party is a gross violation of property rights, and Denverites should not stand for it. I hope to see the vacant Burnham Yard redeveloped, and I am thrilled the Broncos are remaining in Denver, but a property tax break and eminent domain should be off the table.

The area surrounding Burnham Yard is a thriving area, and things will only improve since the city has committed millions of dollars to improving infrastructure in the area. Denver Water's nearby campus is beautiful, and businesses in the area are thriving. It is hard to see how a blight designation could stick, but I've seen urban renewal agencies in declare farmland blighted before just to help a developer.

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Joe Heller, hellertoons.com

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