The effectiveness of land use planning on the preservation of open space in five rural, high amenity communities in the Rocky Mountains

Rural communities in the Rocky Mountain West with high amenity values such as open space or access to outdoor recreation experienced a high population influx between 1980 and 2000. As the population continues to grow, new development threatens to degrade the very attributes that originally attracted people. To mitigate the negative impacts of development, many communities implement land use planning policies and regulations. This study examined the effectiveness of land use planning policies and regulations on the preservation of open space as a natural amenity in five rapidly growing Rocky Mountain counties. The five communities consisted of the fastest growing rural counties in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. I analyzed planning policy documents and regulations and the responses of interview participants to determine which open space protection strategies were most frequently identified and which were viewed as effective in preserving open space. The most common protection strategies were: agricultural or open space zoning, cluster subdivisions with density bonuses, natural resource zones or overlays, creating buffers around wetlands and streams, restricting development on steep slopes, and conservation easements and fee simple purchase. Overall, no single land use planning technique has served to protect open space resources in these counties. However, using a combination of these techniques could serve other communities as they work to protect open space resources in the face of increasing development pressures.