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Conservation Easements Abused in Colorado

Posted by: Nate Berg

13 February 2008 - 8:00am

Conservation easements in Colorado are being used to protect valuable home sites and areas earmarked for oil and gas exploration and development, not the open spaces the easements were designed to preserve.

An innovative state law designed to preserve Colorado's scenic open spaces and working ranches has, in dozens of cases, been used to protect everything from multimillion- dollar home sites in gated communities to tiny pieces of land slated for oil and gas development.

The law allots generous state income tax credits to property owners who agree to protect their lands from development. But in some cases, a Rocky Mountain News investigation has found, the law has been used to generate tax credits on lands with questionable public value.

In addition, the investigation found, appraisals on some properties granted protection have been grossly inflated. The higher the appraisal, the greater the tax credit.

Full Story: Abuses taint land deals
Source: The Rocky Mountain News, February 9, 2008
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The areas where we have severe blight and indications of more blight to come are basically the same as they ever were. How in the world are we ever going to move our community development selves into an alternative future that thinks differently about the challenges we face in our cities and low-income suburban and rural communities?
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