Colorado Voter Survey

Negative Population Growth (NPG) commissioned Denver-based polling firm Ridder/Braden, Inc. to conduct a public opinion survey of Colorado voters to gauge their attitudes about the current pace of population and development.

FINDINGS:

Population and Development Growth – Issues of Urgency and Concern with Voters

• While a majority of Colorado voters say things in Colorado are headed in the right direction (63%),

• 71% expressed concern that the quality of life will deteriorate if current population and growth trends continue.

• Put in starker terms, 72% of Colorado voters think that the current pace of population growth is an outright threat to the quality of life in Colorado.

• 68% think overpopulation is a major problem in Colorado.

• An overwhelming majority of Colorado voters think that Colorado’s projected 49% population increase over the next 25 years is an “urgent” problem.

• When considering the myriad of issues important to them, voters identified population and population-related issues as the most important issues impacting their communities. 19% said “population growth and overcrowding” was the most important issue facing their community. When combining those respondents with concern for traffic congestion (12%) and sprawl/development (8%), the total is 39%.

The concern over manifestations of growth (traffic, sprawl, and overcrowding) correlated closely with the respondent’s length of time living in Colorado:


ALL	Under 10 Years Residence	10-19 Years Residence	20+ Years Residence
39%	33%	34%	43%

• When growth management and sprawl issues are discussed by policy makers or reported by the media, it is typically in the context of its many symptoms: traffic, school overcrowding, the loss of open space. Few times is it placed in the context of “overpopulation” or “population growth.”

The survey reveals that a majority (64%) of Colorado voters have made the connection between sprawl and its root cause, increased population.

Rate of Residential Growth

• A substantial majority (71%) of Colorado voters describe the rate of residential development as “much too fast” or “a little too fast.”

The Negative Impact of Increased Population and Development

Traffic:

• Almost seven out of ten voters say that they are spending more time in traffic and less time with family as a result of the current pace of development and resulting traffic congestion.

Environment:

• An overwhelming majority (82%) think that the current pace of development and population growth is a serious threat to Colorado’s natural resources, such as the Rocky Mountains, national and state parks, rivers, and open space.

Education:

• More than three-quarters (78%) expressed concern that development and population growth has resulted in overcrowded schools and threatens the quality of education.

• A majority (72%) expressed concern that tax dollars will be spent on building new schools to accommodate growth instead of being spent on improving the quality of education for current students.

Population & Development Growth: The Economy & Who Benefits Most

• Voters are almost evenly split when asked if the current pace of development and population growth “is necessary for a sound economy and high quality of life.”

• While voters are split as to the link between growth and the economy, 65% think that the primary beneficiaries are “a narrow group of developers and related industries.”

Voter Attitudes about Immigration Policies

• A majority (61%) of Colorado voters want the federal government to lower immigration levels to reduce the environmental impact and development pressures on communities across the nation.

The Politics and Policies

• 70% of voters said that the state and federal leaders have a “responsibility to enact policies that reduce development and halt population so that a high quality of life, a health environment, and a sound economy can be maintained.”

• A majority of voters (56%) would be willing to pay more in taxes to preserve open space and reduce population growth.

Please click here for additional survey information including methodology and original questionnaire.