Last Wednesday, the DRCOG board voted to expand the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) by 17.2 sq. miles at last night's meeting with the caveat of modeling the expansion and verifying that the expanded development would comply with clean air standards.

This was not good but it was not the worst they could do. DRCOG did not approve including the old Lowry Bombing range which is a state land board project outside the growth boundary. But slowly the UGB is becoming a UGS (Urban Growth Sieve.)

The meeting highlighted the divide the between most of the cities and most of the counties. Arapahoe, Douglas, Jefferson and Adams counties teamed up to bust the UGB and allow more growth in the unincorporated areas. They argued the whole process shortchanged them and they should be allowed to grow. Their basic position refuses to recognize the fundamental goals of smart growth: orderly development that focuses new growth in already developed areas, mixed use, intelligent design and emphasis on Transit.

More importantly, missing from the UGB busting proponents world view is anything on the costs of sprawl. 1 square mile of development outside the UGB can lead to an increased public infrastructure cost of $33 million according to the models created by DRCOG staff. In addition, regional transportation costs may be as high as $114 million/square mile of outward development.

Environment Colorado submitted public comment requesting that the board either approve the plan without the expansion or postpone the vote until further analysis of the proposed expansion could be done. Reasons for not approving the expansion are that such outward development presents higher public infrastructure costs, increases traffic congestion, and creates more pollution which degrades our environment and creates larger contributions to global warming. The main reason for postponing the vote was that not enough information had been presented to justify an expansion to the UGB. The latest figures from DRCOG staff show that 170 square miles of undeveloped area remains within the current UGB boundary. Until it can be determined that this area could not accommodate the growth, an expansion should not be approved.

Environment Colorado also requested that the board not approve the Lowry Bombing Range Development in Arapahoe County. This land is currently held by the State Land Board in a Stewardship Trust. There is considerable controversy as to whether the area's water supply can support urban development as well as to whether there is a market demand for the site and if the development is in line with the Metro Vision 2030 Plan.