| You need look
no further than your local daily news (or this web site)
for confirmation of many of the points raised in Bill
Travis' column:
Recent Census and housing figures attest the
population of the West is booming.
Nevada has led the nation in growth for the past 19 years.
Idaho ranked third for the 2004-2005 Census. And St. George,
Utah, was the top in the nation for population gains between
2000 and 2005.
Nevada officials said they weren't surprised with their
top ranking because all they do is deal with growth.
St.
George, surrounded as it is by federal land,
would get some room to grow under legislation
sponsored by Utah's U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett and
U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson that would open up
some 25,000 acres of federal land for development.
In Idaho, cities are also running out of room to grow
as a recent land war between Kuna and Meridian signifies.
Ada County officials had asked the two towns to stop their
rapid annexation of land that lies between them, but the
mayors of the cities said they had to grow to survive.
In Colorado, a city that has only been in existence for
slightly more than a decade made headlines when it annexed
its way into becoming an economic player in the Denver
area. Lone Tree officials diligently worked to acquire
land surrounding the plum Park Meadows mall, and with
its latest acquisition brought the tiny shopping destination
into the city — and the sales-tax revenue the mall generates
into its coffers.
During the 11 or so years since Lone Tree
became a municipality, its population has grown 502 percent,
but its sales tax revenue has increased a whopping 3,965
percent.
In Montana, ranchers in the northwest area
of the state are selling out, and at least two towns,
Whitefish and Hungry Horse, are reviewing applications
for subdivisions that will nearly double the size of their
towns when the developments are finished. Two subdivisions
proposed for Somers would quadruple the population of
that tiny town on the shore of Flathead Lake.
As Travis asserts, in order for planning to
be effective, it must be at least countywide. But there
is opposition to such efforts.
In Idaho, the Blaine County 2025 comprehensive
growth plan, which was crafted to preserve agricultural
lands, was blasted by farmers and ranchers who said the
plan would prevent them from selling parcels of land to
raise needed funds to stay in operation.
Also in Idaho, Ada
County officials and the officials of the six cities
in that Idaho county, along with the county's road department
and the Idaho Transportation Department are nearing the
completion of the countywide "Blueprint
for Good Growth."
All say that, had their individual entities
stuck to their growth plans, the county would have already
achieved the goals of the proposed "Blueprint for
Good Growth."
Not that those goals will be realized under
the Blueprint. Residents who attended a public hearing,
primarily because they were concerned about a new subdivision
planned for their neighborhood, said the Blueprint advocates,
but does not require, the subdivision be approved by all
the entites. The omission of such a requirement may mean
that piecemeal development will continue despite the well-intentioned
Blueprint.
Then there are the property-rights initiatives
that are on the ballots in three Western states. These
initiatives are either the last line of defense from the
government coming for your property or a wholesale attack
on local governments' efforts to manage growth, depending
on whether you're a supporter of the initiative or oppose
it.
Oregon's
Measure 37 has led the way in such initatives. Passed
in 2004, the law says that governments must either compensate
landowners for loss of value to their property caused
by land-use decisions, or roll back those decisions. NewWest.net
offered a three-part, in-depth series on Oregon's Measure
37.
Oregon's Measure 37 passed with 61 percent
of the vote. This November will provide a significant
look at how residents of Idaho,
Montana
and Nevada
truly feel about planning. (A Montana state judge's
decision on Sept.
13 to toss Montana's ballot initiative on property
rights, along with two other ballot initiatives, because
of how signatures were gathered to qualify the measures
for the ballot, puts the outcome of that initiative into
question.)
A recent local newscast about a proposed subdivision
near Columbia Falls in Montana clearly highlights the
split in public opinion about growth.
One resident interviewed was incensed because
she said the Flathead County Planning Department would
not provide her with any information about the 800-unit
subdivision that would include 65,000 square feet of retail
space.
Another resident said she would welcome the
new shopping opportunities, while a county official added
that the new development would bring much-needed jobs
and economic activity to the county.
That split of public opinion is indicative
of the debate over development and growth across the West,
and underscores the necessity of land-use conferences
such as the Orton Family Foundation's "PLACEMATTERS06."
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