Fort Collins Loveland is now the 15th fastest-growing area in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which combines the two cities and their environs for statistical purposes. The concern level is much greater now than it was in the 1970s, Byrne says. Back then, there was an idea that growth is related to prosperity and that growth is good. There wasn't much talk about the negative aspects of growth. Now, traffic leads the litany of complaints public officials hear.
People also bemoan the loss of open space.
In Colorado, that tends to mean doing something locally. Not only do local governments have more power than those in many other states, including Virginia, but many Coloradans don't want the state meddling in local affairs. There is a very, very strong attitude in this state about local control of land use, says Byrne, whose office is on the edge of the city's restored historic district. Even localities that are strongly for good planning are opposed to state intervention and want the state to keep out of it. Byrne is among those who would like to see state government exert more leadership and a less permissive attitude toward unfettered growth.