Boulder County BOCC, CO / General Boulder County

The Boulder County Commissioners join SCFD and BCCC council members in congratulating all 2020 SCFD Tier III grant recipients. This has been a challenging year for arts and science organizations, and we look forward to a better 2021.

The Boulder County Comprehensive Plan was conceived and designed in response to a growth spurt that really began in the 1950s. After nearly 10 years of meetings, independent studies, and community input, the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 1978. The cornerstone goal of this document was to locate future urban development within or adjacent to existing communities in order to eliminate sprawl and to preserve agriculture, forestry and open space land uses. Another important objective was to make it clear that the County was neither interested in nor suited for competing with municipalities for growth, nor would the county provide the services that growth requires.

With direction and guidance from the Comprehensive Plan, a number of policies and land use regulation changes were enacted to preserve agricultural and environmentally significant lands. Among these were a rezoning that expanded agricultural coverage by 25,000 acres and the adoption of a series of land use incentives to restrict development while helping to maintain productive agricultural activity and uses.

The Comprehensive Plan also encouraged the idea of an Open Space Sales Tax, which became a reality in 1992 and continues to exist today. Since the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan, County Open space holdings have increased from 3,500 to over 85,000 acres.

For more information, please visit http://www.bouldercounty.org/property/build/pages/bccp.aspx.

Boulder County, Colorado has changed significantly over that past several decades in terms of municipal annexations, population and housing development, and open space acquisitions. Since 1978, the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan, with subsequent implementation tools and programs, has been successful in its goal to locate urban development within or adjacent to existing communities. This has minimized sprawl while preserving agricultural, forestry and open space land uses.

It is no accident that Boulder County has evolved the way it has over time. Many programs, policies and people have shaped the form of Boulder County to what it is today.

Learn more about growth and planning in Boulder County at http://www.bouldercounty.org/property/build/pages/default.aspx