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<br />Constitution. Although there is no specific constitutionallanguag" on the point, the <br />right is entwined with our very beginnings as a nation and has been consiskntJy <br />confirmcu in court dccisions."4 That being the case, tile issue is whetller alld how to <br />guide thc State's growtll so as to preseTl'e the quality of life that allractcd gro\l,th in the <br />first place, awl at ti,e slime time to respond /() the different pal/ems of groIVth or <br />dccline in :ile screral parts of the State. <br /> <br />Prominent among the possihilities for guiding growth so as to preserve e,sential <br />qualities is to control the use of land"':'both public and private. The idea of land-use <br />controls runS cOllnter to a strong tradition in C010raclo that land, as private prop<,rty, <br />has a certain sanctity: what one does with hi, own land is his own business. To be sure, <br />\~" have long had regulations,. sllch as public health laws and building and subdivision codes, <br />and more recently environmental regulations, that do assert that the public has some .. <br />interest in the uses of private land. The question, as we view the quickening pace of . <br />growth, is hOlv to guide the use of land in such a way as to keep an equitable balance <br />between pri,mte prerogatives and ti,e public interest? <br /> <br />That difficult question forms the core <if the Colorado Land Use Commission's <br />work O\'er the past three years. If all Coloradans shared similar values and visions of the <br />future, the Commission's task of recommending a land-use programS might have ryeen.1I1uch <br />easier. They don't; and after listening to citizen, around the State voice their goals, <br />problem" peeves, prejudice" interests, and concerns, the Commission hec':'l1e further <br />convinced of the need for balance-between economic and environmental issues, between <br />private and public interests, and between State, regional, and local concerns. <br /> <br />THE REGIONS <br /> <br />The Commission discovcred in the course of its work that there are five natural and <br />distinct Colorados.6 The definition of these (see Map) gave shape and substance to the <br />Commission's deliberations, and provides a fra~ework for under,tanding the differing <br /> <br />4William K. ReillY. ed., The Use of Lelld: A Citi::clls' Policy Guide 10 Urbon Growtlt, A TJsk Force Report S?onsored by <br />the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (New York: ThoJTIas Y. Cc01'!Mell Company, 1973), p. 88. <br /> <br />5CRS Ch. 106, Art. 4, ~ 3, 'ill(i1): "In dcvelopin,g the land lIse pbnn!n.g program, tht! commission shall utilize and <br />rcc%'llizc to the fullest extent po~sillle nil existing uses, pl:in.~. policies, standard!>, and procedures nfrccting bild itse of <br />the loc~'. state, ::md fctlcrallcv~ls :lnd rarticuhtrly note where, in its 'opinion, deficiencies exist. The !J.nd u~e planning <br />rrogJ'orn shall al~o specify devdopmcn! puLicy and prot.:edllrcs for th~ future," <br /> <br />6Thc five r('<;ions arc d~fincd ~O:::lS to Cllrrespond roughly 10 th~ boundaries of the present Planning and M:H-:n~mcnl <br />Districts (Pi\1Ds). The PMDs are e.xpcctcd to continue thcir functions in coopera!ion with the regional c01:1ron~nts <br />of. the State Land U3C Age[\cy recommended below. <br /> <br />.9/'0[' <br /> <br />x <br />