A five-day special session that cost taxpayers $150,000 ended Monday with no substantial solution to Colorado's growth problems. Both Sides Discuss Why There Was No Compromise The two sides decided to adjourn Monday afternoon after they agreed that it was pointless to continue. "The way it turned out, it's clear that there wasn't any desire by the two parties to work together," Gov. Bill Owens told 7NEWS. "Today alone, the Senate Democrats killed nine bills in the Senate, and then couldn't pass their own bills, so they decided to go home. So it was a waste of taxpayer money and a lot of our time." The weeks-old stalemate on growth came to a head when the Senate Public Policy and Planning Committee killed nine House-approved plans to control growth, leaving only two Senate bills, including the Democrats' comprehensive growth plan. House Republicans then voted to adjourn and the Senate agreed. "The Senate did follow through on their threat to postpone indefinitely all the Republican bills. The people of Colorado are really the losers," said House Speaker Doug Dean, R- Colorado Springs. Democrats also expressed disappointment about the outcome of the special session. "I too have some regrets about the special session. First among them is that I wish the governor could have waited a little while before bringing all of us back in," House Minority Leader Dan Grossman said. "I don't think it served this process any good to bring a bunch of tired, weary and annoyed people who had been beating each other up for the past 120 days, back together to try and forge compromise on a very complex, very difficult issue." Senate Democrats accused developers of sabotaging attempts for a comprehensive growth bill. "I'm disappointed, I'm upset, I think the development community has hurt itself in this process," said Sen. Ed Perlmutter, D-Golden. Owens called the special session the day after the Legislature ended its regular session May 9 with no decision on what to do about Colorado's rapid growth. Owens so far has refused to say what he would do if no compromise was reached. The special session cost approximately $14,000 a day and lasted 10 days. Previous Stories:

• May 18, 2001: Still No Growth Bill In Special Session
• May 15, 2001: Gov. Owens Addresses Special Session Monday
• May 11, 2001: Special Session Moves Into Day Two
• May 10, 2001: Legislative Special Session Begins Thursday
• May 10, 2001: Angry Lawmakers Can't Compromise On Growth Bill
• May 9, 2001: No Growth Bill As Midnight Deadline Approaches
• May 8, 2001: Growth Bill Stalls In Conference Committee
• May 7, 2001: Growth Bill Still In Limbo
• May 7, 2001: Groups Put Colorado Growth Info On Net
• May 4, 2001: State Senate Approves Growth Bill
• April 15, 2001: Growth Plan Would Erode Neighborhoods, Residents Say
• March 29, 2001: Growth Poll Reveals New Concerns
• March 20, 2001: Colorado Suburbs Booming, Latest Census Shows