senior staff writer
At times, many of us get the urge to pack up our belongings, leave behind the stresses of urban life, and head off to the quiet seclusion of country living.
Thousands from all over the country have done just that over the last several years, choosing picturesque Larimer County in north central Colorado as their destination. Arriving with hopes of an easier pace of life, the newcomers quickly realize that deserting urban living also means abandoning the amenities of urban government services.
Heavy migration to Larimer started in the early '90s. Since 1990, the population has increased 20 percent. People are drawn to this area for its diversity, explained Commissioner John Clarke. Its 2,600 square miles offer farmland and ranches, a portion of Rocky Mountain National Park and the Colorado State University campus.
"Right there in one county, you've got all of this," he said.
But after fielding numerous complaints from miffed newcomers about unplowed roads and foul-smelling livestock, Clarke spearheaded the publication of a handbook called "Code of the West: The Realities of Rural Living" to help enlighten the new landowners about the ways of the country.
Clarke recalls one phone call from a new resident complaining about her snow-covered, unplowed road. She was reminded of road signs in her area indicating that the county does not plow there. "I thought once I built my house you would," she responded.
Another call came from a new resident unaccustomed to rural aromas, complaining that "the cows stink," Clarke chuckled.
New residents with sensitivities to chemicals have also had difficulties coping with the frequent spraying of farmland. "They have no business living in the country," he said.
Distributed to potential home buyers, "Code of the West" makes clear that their "lifestyle needs to be different," and warns them of potential problems.
For example, the booklet cautions, emergency response times for police, fire and medical services cannot be guaranteed. Some rural county roads are never graded or plowed. At times, the only phone service available is a party line. Additional private lines for faxing or computer modems can be difficult to obtain.
Also, if property owners don't own the mineral rights on their land, the mineral rights owner can "change the surface characteristics" in order to extract their minerals. Because of the more frequent power outages in rural areas, the code says, "it is important to be able to survive for up to a week in severe cold with no utilities."
As for the offending odors wafting from nearby farms, the booklet pronounces: "Animals and their manure can cause objectionable odors. What else can we say?"
Rural areas of the county don't receive the same level of services that cities do, Commissioner Clarke explained, because the amount of property taxes that urban residents pay isn't enough to subsidize those areas.
For example, taxes on a $160,000 home in the city of Fort Collins garners $1,600 per year. However, rural home owners pay a much lower agriculture assessment rate.
Montrose County, in the southwestern part of the state, has adopted and modified its own "Code of the West," and two other Colorado counties are considering using it.
(For more information about the "Code of the West,"
contact Commissioner John Clarke at 970/498-7001.)