November 1998

By James Lawlor

Colorado: Refining growth bill. Members of the chapter and other interest groups spent the summer refining a "responsible growth" bill, S.B. 160, that was introduced in the last legislative session by Sen. Pat Pascoe from Denver but was tabled in committee.

As written, the measure requires comprehensive plans to be filed by counties with over 25,000 residents and by counties that grew by 10 percent during the previous decade. Plans are required of municipalities within these counties, reports chapter president William Lamont, aicp. All of these jurisdictions must establish urban growth areas within three years.

Coordinating the county and municipal plans would be the job of the state’s five metropolitan planning organizations, according to the bill. The measure also requires state agencies, school districts, and special districts to coordinate their programs with local plans.

During the summer months, representatives of APA and other groups, hosted by the district council of the Urban Land Institute, met every two weeks to discuss refinements in the bill, which is expected to be considered again in this legislative session. Among other things, says Lamont, the group recommended that the bill include a provision for transferring development rights from rural areas to urban growth areas.

Lamont admits that substantial political obstacles stand in the way of growth management in his generally conservative state. On the other hand, he notes, there does appear to be considerable public sentiment in favor of controlling sprawl, and legislators are paying attention.

Connecticut: It takes a village. In action reminiscent of the New Hampshire legislation discussed here last month, the Connecticut General Assembly enacted a law (PA 98-116) this spring, authorizing municipalities to establish "village districts" under their zoning codes, chapter legislative cochair Jose Giner reports. Appropriate regulations are aimed at protecting the districts’ distinctive character, landscape, and historic structures.

Giner says the impetus for the bill was a concern over state highway improvements that threatened historic villages in rural areas throughout the state. The new law strongly suggests that the state transportation department consider the historic character of the villages. It also gives local governments a say over the location and design of public roadways.

Giner says the new law, which took effect October 1, came as a surprise to planners, and its full impact will not be known for some time.

Florida: Vote yes on 5. The Florida chapter has urged voters to approve one of the nine proposed revisions to the Florida constitution that appear on this month’s ballot, reports executive director Marcia Elder. Revision 5, entitled "Conservation of Natural Resources and Creation of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission," authorizes the state to issue bonds to finance the purchase and improvement of land, water areas, and related property interests for conservation, recreation, water resource development, restoration of natural systems, and historic preservation.

The revision also creates a new commission that would replace the game and freshwater fish commission and the marine fisheries commission. The commission would be an independent state agency with its own staff.

Elder says the other eight revisions proposed by the constitutional revision commission are all acceptable to the chapter. A proposal that would have created a constitutional mandate to compensate landowners for "regulatory takings" never made it through the commission’s vetting process.