Environment Colorado is leading an effort to convince Front Range local governments to restrict exurban sprawl. Projected to gobble up nearly 1,200 square miles of land around the Denver region in the coming years, the large-lot subdivisions characteristic of exurban sprawl will destroy key wildlife habitat, degrade our air quality due to increased driving, and threaten our region’s water supply.

“Exurban sprawl is the unknown threat to our landscape,” said Will Coyne, Environment Colorado’s land use advocate.

At issue are home sites of typically between two to five acres, but sometimes as large as 35 acres. These developments ring the metro area, blanketing the foothills along Interstate 70 in Jefferson County and the farm country of Adams County.

Large-lot development brings an array of environmental challenges. According to Colorado State University, exurban sprawl has a dramatic effect on wildlife because most native species can’t survive in exurban or large-lot subdivisions. Exurban sprawl is also increasing the amount that Front Range residents are driving – which in turn leads to higher emissions of harmful air pollutants. Between 1990 and 2002, vehicle travel on Colorado’s major highways and arterial roads increased 60 percent, from 27 billion vehicle miles of travel (VMT) to 44 billion VMT. In 2003, the Denver region violated the health-based standard for ozone more than 30 times.

Environment Colorado is a member of a DRCOG (Denver Regional Council of Governments) committee tasked with developing new policies to limit exurban growth. Coyne will advocate solutions that provide incentives for clustering development in rural and exurban areas. The committee expects to make recommendations to the DRCOG board for adoption by the beginning of next year.

A Closer Look

Environment Colorado recently released “Colorado’s Disappearing Agricultural Landscape,” a report outlining 50 years of decline to Colorado’s agricultural landscape and related impacts to our environment and rural economies.

“Our agricultural land is vanishing right before our eyes,” said Will Coyne, Environment Colorado’s land use advocate. “Exurban sprawl is the unknown threat to rural landscapes.”

The report found that economic pressures on family farms often leave them little choice but to sell or parcel out their land to developers. Typically, when agricultural land is sold for development, it is subdivided into large lots that require expensive new infrastructure, decrease aquifer levels and destroy wildlife habitat.

Unfortunately, the rate of agricultural land loss is increasing, not decreasing. On average, from 1987 to 2002 Colorado lost 548 acres of farmland per day. However, from 1997 to 2002, 690 acres of farmland were lost to development, ranking Colorado as the third in overall farmland loss during this period.

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