Abstract:
This case examines a five-year effort by Governor Richard Lamm to influence economic and population growth in Colorado. In particular, it focuses on the evolution of a set of ten Human Settlement Policies, created as guidelines for state officials in deciding where to invest state and federal funds. These policies provoked dissent from local officials and members of the Republican legislative majority, who saw in them a challenge to the sacred tenets of home rule and legislative hegemony in policymaking. The case begins with a discussion of appropriate planning strategies for growth management and then examines the political marketing of the traditionally unpopular concept of state influence over local land use decisions. It offers students an opportunity to confront an inter-related sequence of strategic, political, and administrative questions. The case should first familiarize them with the philosophy, politics, and practice of state growth management policies. It can then be used to portray the environment for executive action in states with historic and statutory traditions of weak gubernatorial authority, and to analyze the nature of executive-legislative relations. Finally, the case may be used to assess various techniques for the political marketing of controversial proposals.
Learning Objective:
This case allows students to evaluate the process the Governor of Colorado went through to create a sustainable growth policy for his State. It provides a good example of the hurdles a governor faces to create and push legislation.
