Colorado - BOULDER COUNTY
Countywide program - Formed in 1975 - researched by Al Sokolow
OVERVIEW - Agricultural easement acquisitions are part of an extensive open space program operated by Boulder County that features substantial voter-approved sales tax funding for purchase of development rights (PDR) and easements obtained through the land use regulatory process. The county also owns in fee a large number of agricultural acres that are leased to farm operators. With much of the county's landscape already protected for open space purposes through a variety of local, state and federal programs, the remaining unprotected agricultural parcels are scattered and relatively few in number. The acquisition strategy concentrates on these parcels. Located in the front range of the Colorado Rockies, Boulder County includes both plains and mountain areas. Just north of Denver and near other front range cities, the county is in a region of rapid urban growth.
EASEMENT ACTIVITY - 20,388 agricultural acres in
about 245 properties. Easements are mostly on cropland (non-irrigated wheat,
irrigated corn, sugar beets, beans ), but include some grazing acres. The total
includes 9,544 PDR acres (45 parcels) and 10,844 acres (about 200 parcels) acquired
through the land use regulatory process (Non-Urban Planned Unit Developments).
Also the county owns about 24,000 acres of agricultural land (purchased through
the overall open space program) that are leased to farm operators.
Goals: No specific program goals. With so much of Boulder County covered
by local, state and federal protection programs, there are few privately-owned
agricultural acres not under easement.
Other Easement Programs: County and city of Boulder open space and wildland
easements as well as fee purchased properties for resource protection and public
recreation.
FUNDING
Acquisition Spending to Date: $58 million on agricultural easements.
This is about a third of the county's total spending of $135 million on acquiring
easements and fee purchased open space properties of all kinds.
Revenues: County sales tax, state grants, federal funds and development
mitigation. Voters on three occasions approved sales tax increases to finance
open space bonds totaling $51 million through 2003. Some easements were acquired
through the county's land use regulations which allow developers of large subdivisions
to contribute easements in return for higher residential densities and clustering
(a form of development mitigation).
GOVERNANCE - The program is housed in the Boulder County Department of Parks and Open Space, whose director reports to the elected county Board of Commissioners. The Division of Acquisitions within the department handles all open space transactions and land management tasks.
STAFF AND OPERATING BUDGET - The staff of the Acquisitions Division totals 12, including land officers, attorneys and a paralegal. One land officer is assigned to easement work, both agricultural and open space. Each easement transaction is handled by a team of the land officer, an attorney, and a paralegal. Operating budget of the Division is not available.
ORIGINS - The formation of the Boulder County Parks and Open Space Department in 1975 followed a period of citizen reaction to rapid growth and the loss of open space lands, numerous meetings and surveys, and the development of a resource map and a list of preservation priorities. The first PDR easement was acquired in 1987, but the volume did not reach substantial levels until after the first voter approval of sales tax support in 1993. The first regulatory easements (mitigation) were acquired in the 1970s.
ACQUISITION PROCESS AND STRATEGY - County commissioners
make final decisions on specific acquisitions at public hearings, following
staff recommendations and review by an Open Space Advisory Committee. There
is no formal application process for landowners, although the program has identified
virtually all agricultural properties in the county without easements and maintains
contact with the owners. Geographical targeting drives the acquisitions process,
with a focus on "inholdings" -the few remaining non-protected agricultural
properties in the county's Plains region located near urban areas.
Rating of Parcels: Not quantitative, see below.
Other Criteria: The targeting of inholding properties succeeds an earlier
emphasis on agricultural quality, large parcel size and other factors. While
relatively small in size, inholding parcels are valuable for development because
of their proximity to urban populations and already protected lands.
CONNECTIONS TO LOCAL PLANNING AND LAND USE POLICIES
- (1) The easement program is supported by the Agricultural Element in the county's
Comprehensive Plan with provisions about retaining agricultural resources and
limiting development impacts on existing agricultural uses. (2) The Non-Urban
Planned Unit Development process for county review of large subdivisions provides
a density bonus for development in return for the contribution of easements
on 75 percent or more of a project's land (a form of development mitigation).
(3) The county has intergovernmental agreements with its cities that promote
agricultural land preservation within city planning areas.
Zoning: One unit in the agricultural zone for parcels of 35 acres or
less. (Colorado state law limits county control over subdivision approvals to
such smaller parcels.)
DEMOGRAPHICS
2000 Population: 291,000
1990-2000 Population Change: +66,000 residents; + 29 percent
AGRICULTURAL LAND
128,000 acres in 1997: 45 percent cropland
Conversion to Urban Use: 80,000 total agricultural acres in 1982-1997
(44 percent of 1982 base). (Program data)
OTHER AGRICULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
1997 Market Value: $46 million Number of Farms: 657
Principal Commodities: Nursery and greenhouse crops, poultry, hay, field
seeds
MAP NARRATIVE - EASEMENT GEOGRAPHY
(PROGRAM MAP)
The map highlights the eastern third of Boulder County, which includes
the cities and the Plains area containing the cropland and virtually all of
the county's agricultural easements. The green overlay for conservation areas
on cross-hatched land identifies the protected farmland, including both PDR
and regulatory easements. Large easement blocks are located between the cities
of Boulder and Longmont. Much of the mountainous central and eastern parts of
the county, only partially shown on the map, are covered by conservation easements
and publicly owned land.