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Ranchlands and Natural Heritage Areas, Routt County, CO

1 Mill Property Tax Increase Referendum
for Purchase of Development Rights

"Hopefully both the Trust for Public Land and the Nature Conservancy are very proud of their contribution to this community. It took all hands on deck to accomplish what we did, and I for one am very grateful I had the backup of both organizations and access to the talent within."

-- Jane McLeod, Civic Leader Routt County, Colorado

In 1995, northern Colorado's Routt County issued 427 new residential building permits -- more than half of those for single-family homes. In a community of only about 16,000 people, the impact of this new growth was being felt -- most notably in the disappearance of the region's spectacular ranchlands.

This loss led community leaders, the Nature Conservancy, and the Trust for Public Land to join forces to save Routt County's ranchlands and open spaces. The first step was a county-wide planning process that helped the community develop its vision for growth, open space and the preservation of ranchlands. This process led to the choice of purchase of development rights and a property tax increase as the most appropriate preservation and funding mechanisms. Next, county commissioners, unanimous in their support, referred the measure to the ballot. Entitled the Ranchlands and Natural Areas Initiative, this measure asked voters to increase property taxes to pay willing landowners for the development rights to their property.

The PDR approach offered the county several advantages over the outright purchase of property: the county could protect valuable ranchlands at costs significantly below the full value of the land; property was kept on the tax rolls; and, most important, lands could be permanently protected for ranching. Revenues from the property tax increase would be supplemented by money from the state's lottery-backed Great Outdoors Colorado program.

On November 5, 1996, the Ranchlands and Natural Areas Initiative passed -- with 95 votes to spare -- making Routt County the first in the Intermountain West to approve a tax increase specifically for purchasing development rights. Here's how a coalition of Routt County supporters worked with TPL and the Nature Conservancy on this important measure.

• TPL/TNC Collaboration When the Routt County measure got underway, TPL and TNC were in the process of developing a unique partnership to protect open spaces and parklands in the fast-growing Rocky Mountain region. Routt County marked their first public finance campaign collaboration. TPL dispatched a consultant to the area to work with the community advisory committee and TNC, which had an office in Steamboat Springs, Routt County's largest community.
• Polling Results of a public opinion poll helped guide the next phase of the process, ensuring that a measure was designed that reflected public opinion about spending, land conservation and ranchlands protection. Specifically, the poll revealed how much voters would be willing to spend to protect threatened ranchlands. Despite initial hopes by community supporters for a higher levy, the poll clearly indicated voters' taxing threshold -- between $9 and $25 a year for the average homeowner. This finding proved crucial to the measure's success and illustrates the importance of polling even in low-budget campaigns like the one in Routt County.
• Citizens Advisory Committee TPL and TNC worked closely with Citizens for P.D.R., a broad-based coalition of community leaders that included ranchers, business leaders and environmentalists. The Citizens for P.D.R. showed Routt County voters that diverse groups could unite behind a well-designed land conservation measure -- an important message in a community once bitterly divided over growth and development issues.
• Campaign TNC and TPL produced direct mail that underscored the measure's broad-based support, particularly from ranchers, and emphasized its low price tag. The free media campaign reinforced these important messages, and an election day get-out-the-vote drive helped bring identified supporters to the polls on election day.