Colorado Sprawl Action Center's
Growth Management Toolkit

Table of Contents | Introduction | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

Rural Lands Protection:
Problem | Solution | Applications | Internet Resources

Colorado’s open spaces and agricultural lands are being consumed by sprawl and “leap frog” developments. In many cases the most valuable parcels of open space and agricultural lands are the first to be developed because they are located along rivers and streams or are the most scenic areas. These valuable lands are often zoned for large-lot developments or even left completely unzoned. This, combined with the “35 acre rule”, that actually prevents local governments from regulating the subdivision of land into parcels of 35 acres or greater, often results in a lack of local government management of the development of Colorado’s rural lands.

In many instances, entire counties are zoned at the same density — for example, one dwelling per two acres — or have no zoning at all, thereby providing no protections to keep farmland in production or rural lands open.

In addition, development regulations are often very weak in rural areas. Under these circumstances development occurs with little oversight by local governments and minimal input from neighboring residents. This can create a situation where an application to annex and develop a parcel is denied by a city and the landowner or developer then seeks approval from the surrounding county where fewer land use regulations are in place. These areas may have only minimal public services and infrastructure available to serve the development. In short, development may haphazardly consume Colorado’s rural lands and may be undesirable or harmful to adjacent communities.

	A suburban cul-de-sac impinges on farmland.

There is a wide range of solutions that can address the problem of rural sprawl and the loss of valuable open space and agricultural lands.

In some cases the purchase of lands or conservation easements may be an option to protect some parcels that are important to the local community or the state (see Fact Sheet #3 of the Growth Management Toolkit). However, given limited resources, the application of land use regulations in rural areas is a useful way to both help communities manage growth in these areas and protect valued parcels. Land use regulations allow communities to direct growth into specified rural areas, establish desired densities, and develop land in an orderly, efficient manner. Communities may wish to prevent the proliferation of evenly distributed, large-lot subdivisions and a resulting lack of contiguous open space. They can accomplish this by “clustering” development in rural areas so that individual homes use less land and adjacent lands are protected for open space or agricultural purposes.

Communities may also want to protect rural areas of local importance while promoting development in others. This can be achieved through the use of transferable development rights (TDRs). TDR programs transfer the development rights, but not the title, of one parcel of land to another parcel. Transfers are often limited to specified areas that are designated as either sending or receiving areas. Transfers result in the permanent protection of the “sending” parcels and, often, in density bonuses on the “receiving” parcels.

In addition, better coordination of land use planning and regulation between neighboring jurisdictions can promote the efficient development of rural lands and the protection of valuable open space and agricultural lands.

Local:
Local governments with jurisdiction over rural lands can prevent the rapid and haphazard development of valuable open space and agricultural lands through the use of a variety of land use regulations. Local governments can zone rural lands to prevent the proliferation of rural sprawl—i.e., residential lots that are too large to efficiently provide with infrastructure and services such as roads, sewers, and fire and police protection, and yet too small to farm. This can be done by establishing regulations regarding minimum lot sizes or specifying accepted uses. For example, one section of a county may be zoned with minimum lot sizes that allow for agricultural or open space uses while another section may allow other uses such as residential development and lot sizes as small as can be soundly handled with well and septic systems. The area with zoning for limited rural uses may be more valuable for agricultural and open space purposes while the area designated for residential use may be closer to existing roads or other development.

Local governments may establish land use regulations that provide incentives for cluster development, where units are clustered together so that larger contiguous open space is protected. A typical incentive for cluster development allows additional units when the units are clustered at a certain density and a specified percentage of the total land is protected as open space.

Local governments may also design and implement transferable development rights (TDR) programs. Sending areas are often in rural areas while receiving areas may be in urban, fringe, or rural areas.

Neighboring local governments may enter into intergovernmental agreements (see Fact Sheet #8 from the Growth Management Toolkit for more information) to establish common goals, appropriate zoning, and even TDR programs for lands that are important to more than one jurisdiction. This allows for coordinated development between cities and counties and may help to prevent the destruction of valuable open space and agricultural lands.

State:
At the state level, the legislature could establish a variety of protections for rural lands. A statewide planning bill could incorporate guidelines to protect open spaces and agricultural lands. The state could also allow counties to regulate subdivisions of land into parcels larger than 35 acres. The state could create additional incentives for cluster development or other tools to protect valuable rural lands. Funding for conservation easements or the purchase of important open space and agricultural lands could be increased. Lastly, the state could provide funding and technical assistance for the establishment of TDR programs.


An agricultural community built on a tight grid preserves farmland.

www.epa.gov/region5/sprawl/farmland.htm
Federal programs that can be used at a local level to protected rural land

www.plannersweb.com/sprawl/solutions_farm.html
Planning Commissioner’s Journal provides “Sprawl Resource Guide” information and examples of conservation easement, TDRs, and Land Purchases

www.farmland.org
American Farmland Trust: Rocky Mountain Region (Palisade, CO)

www.possibility.com/landtrust
General land trust information

Table of Contents | Introduction | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11