02-24-1997 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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THE NEW YORK TIMES NATIONAL MONDAY, DECEMBER 30. im —r* Drawing Hard Line on Urban Growth in West: Portland Leads the Wa Continued From Page AJ shaping plan note that it was hatched by a Republican governor, and thar^usiness as well as Birkenstock environmentalists have rallied around It Seattle has followed Oregon's lead, creat ing Its own line against sprawl in the Cas cade Mountain foothills, and trying to force homebuilders back mto the core of the city. Denver and Salt Lake City, and officials In those states, are studying it Phoenix is in a pffllfir*! quagimre over development Even Las Vegas, the fastest-growing city In America. Is czpenendng the first calls for growth control In the face of severe traffic congestioo. overcrowded schools and a looming water shortage And this year several cities in California — a state often cited as a caricature of 111- consldered urban development — took a page from Oregon. San Jose and four small er Bay Area communities all voted to keep new subdivisioos and commercial‘clutter within a contained tree If anything has defined the quest to create Mwwfjthtiig different in the emerging mega- tHifT erf the West, it is the idea of blending urban life with the outdoors — be it the deaert. the Rocky Mountains or the wet woods of the Pacific Northwest Aa such, one of the big quesuons for the urban West said Richard Lamm, the for mer Governor of Colorado, is: "How many people can lead satisfied lives here?" To residents of ciues that are losuig peo ple and Jobs and are fighUng just to hold the line on basic muniapal services, such a question may seem self-indulgent But it Is the issue that many people in the West say most troubles them as they watch cities they fell in love with morph mto something unrecognizable. Boulder, Colo. The Best Laid Plans Are Undermined Nearly 40 years ago. Boulder. Colo., tried to control its future on its own. setung itself up as an ideal mix of wild and urban — a midsized city pressed agauist the vertical flank of the Rockies. 30 miles from Denver. Starung in 1959, Boulder drew a line in the mountains just above the city, above which no water or sewer services could be extend ed. Then, in 1967. Boulder started to take a portion of the sales tax and buy up open space, mostly ranch land that was being sold to commeraal developers. It has smee pur chased 25.000 acres. In 1976. Boulder went a step further, setting a limit on residential growth, at 2 percent a year. For a ume. it seemed to work From 1976 to 1993. the populauon remained relatively stable but the economy grew at a vigorous rate with the creauon of new jobs. This year. mercial growth — the most contested step It has yet taken. At nlghu It IS clear what Boulder has done Above the city, there are no urban lights massed along the mountains. A sign just blocks from the edge of the city says, "This is a mountam lion's home," and mdeed, there are fresh cougar tracks in the snow. The line has held Boulder at bay. But if Boulder thought it could keep the sprawl of greater Denver from coming its way, it was wrong. A series of oommunlUes sprang up along Hlj^ay 36. between Denver and Boulder. On the praine where the Arapaho and Chey enne people once roamed, there are tens of thnu«Mwt« of new three4)edroom. two^tny, cedar-decked homes massed in develof^ with Indian names, and beautifully landscaped headquarters of high-tech cotn- An occasional ranch or two stands out incongruously. The Rockies are close enough to feel their breath. But on some days, the mountains are obscured by Denver's brown cloud, drlftmg north. At rush hour. Highway 36 is a parking lot all the way back to Denver. in essence, the megalopolis has come m Boulder. It is an island no mon. "The lesson is: we can't do this alone. In Isolation,'' said John Carpenter, the commu nity development director of Westminster, a fast-growmg Denver suburb. Like Boulder, Westnunster had tried to control its fate by limiting development and buying open space. But greater Denver has engulfed tt. "They are things we have no control over, no matter how many laws we pass hi West- mmster." he sakL In both Phoenix and Denver, officials have made a strong effort to purchase open space before it is lost to development Phoenix boasts of havuig the largest munictpal park in the world, the 2SJIOO acres of South Moun tain Park. But as one branch of government the aty. has been trying to buy vacant land for parks and wildlife, another branch, the of Arizona, has been selling it to hous ing developers because it needs to make money for the state. "It's like funding cancer research and giving subsidies to tobacco growers at the same tune." said Scott Phelps, a spokesman for Mayor Skip Rimsza of Phoenix. Colorado has faced the same predicament The state, which first showed its poliUcal mentality when it voted down a chance to host the Olympic Games m 1976. has used a portion of lottery money to buy land. Still. In the last 10 years alone, more than 500.000 acres of open space has been lost to develop ment But this vear. voters passed a constitution al amendment that will allow the state to designate as protected open space some of the land that had been set aside as revenue- generaung property. In short, instead of buy ing open land, they are just not sellmg or developing open land owned by the state. "This was a huge change — a very big deal around here." said Gov. Roy Romer of Colo- rado.Governor Romer favors an Oregon-style 'rnurfh rw*an*a«»mfT^Eni Olan for hlS SIBIC. BUt