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Voter Support for Open Space is Loud and Clear
In a year likely to be remembered for a presidential election that was almost too close to call, voters overwhelmingly agreed on at least one issue: the importance of protecting open space. In state and local elections across the nation in 2000, they committed $7.5 billion of their tax dollars to protect the landscapes around them. There were a record-setting 209 such measures on the ballot and voters approved 174 of them (83%), demonstrating the continued growth of public support for open space protection. When the Land Trust Alliance began systematically gathering information on local elections to fund open space protection in 1998, we were amazed by how much we found. In that year, there were 148 such measures on the ballot. Of those, 124 (84%) were approved, committing more than $8.28 billion. As 1999 was an “off-year,” without gubernatorial or Congressional elections to bring people to the polls, we expected far fewer jurisdictions would put funding measures on the ballot. But there were still 102 measures. Of those, 92 (90%) passed, generating more than $1.8 billion. Cumulatively over the three years, voters designated more than $17.5 billion for open space protection, approving 85% of 459 state, county and local measures. The trend toward larger lots and houses; the stark contrast in the profitability of real estate development versus agricultural land uses; lagging revitalization of urban centers and older suburbs; and local planning and zoning that hasn’t kept up with such changes have all contributed to the consumption of open space at unprecedented rates. The good news is that state and local governments are asking voters to protect the places most important to their communities, their quality of life and their children’s futures—and voters are answering “yes.”
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