What is a/the green belt? (Denver, Boulder: real estate, maintenance, landscaping)

[mczabe]

I would love it if someone could explain to me what exactly green belt means I can imagine what it means (preserved open land, maybe?) but I'd love to be sure.

Also, in real estate listings, I also see the phrase "backs to open space" used a lot. Is "open space" used like this an official term meaning it will always be open space, or does it mean "it's open today, but who knows about tomorrow"?

Thank you so much!!!

[tfox]

Originally Posted by mczabe

I would love it if someone could explain to me what exactly green belt means I can imagine what it means (preserved open land, maybe?) but I'd love to be sure.

Also, in real estate listings, I also see the phrase "backs to open space" used a lot. Is "open space" used like this an official term meaning it will always be open space, or does it mean "it's open today, but who knows about tomorrow"?

Thank you so much!!!

Originally, a green belt was exactly what you guessed, it is protected open land / open space surrounding a community as an amenity for its residents. Boulder was an early pioneer of the greenbelt concept, and that is why much of the land surrounding Boulder is protected. Part of the idea behind a greenbelt was to protect the city from the pressures of sprawl both internal and external, and to preserve the community's independent identity.

However, these days you often hear the term "greenbelt" using to refer to a linear strip of natural area (usually with multi-use trails), running THROUGH an urban area -- which is quite a different thing. This is often among small streams and low-lying areas which aren't developable anyway, so they are left open and "protected."

Open space generally is used to refer to land that is protected -- so in other words, raw, undeveloped private land is NOT open space. It could be owned outright by a government entity or could be private land with a conservation easement placed on it. If the latter, it may not have public right of way across it. Of course, anything you read on a real estate ad should be checked and double checked, as that is not a reliable source of information.

[bhcompy]

there are various cities in the area that have protected open space(highlands ranch probably the most prominent?). always do your homework to make sure that is the case before investing in a house advertising that.

[Katiana]

Louisville also has a lot of open space. However, in years past, before it was so built out, there was a lot of open land that people "assumed" was city-owned open space, but it was not. There have been quite a few unhappy campers because of that. Sometimes the realtor is not misrepresenting, h/she doesn't really know. You can always check with "city hall", which is probably the most reliable source. In a built up area, it's more likely the land is permanently dedicated open space.

[mczabe]

Thanks so much for the info. Unfortunately, we are far too well experienced with how realtors can mislead to ever trust any info without back up. I just wanted to get a feel for the terms I'm seeing online.

We should know by end of this week if this move is really happening or not. Having just moved with two little kids 6 months ago, I'm both excited and stressed just thinking about moving again - so soon and so far away!

Again, thanks for the green belt/open space primer!

[2bindenver]

A Greenbelt; in my experience is a strip on maintained landscaping. Some houses that back to busy roads say they back to a greenbelt, because technically they do - a patch of grass behind the fence, maybe a sidewalk before you get to the street.

Open space is a "designated area" protected by agreement, usually a 100 year lease.

[RonAriba]

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

Open space is a "designated area" protected by agreement, usually a 100 year lease.

Never seen that definition used for open space in Denver.

[steveco.]

I always thought that open space was owned and opperated by the county its located in?

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Open space is generally defined in city/county codes as an area that doesn't have buildings or parking/streets on it. It doesn't necessarily have to be green growing things, so it could be tennis courts or in some cases it could even be a recreation center.

Some cities or counties have money in their open space funds to purchase land that does become specifically designated for open space and will always remain so. In that case it is owned and maintained by the city or county parks department.

Then there is the separte issue of a developer having to dedicate land for open space purposes, such as a greenbelt or community pool. This is done during the planning of a subdivision and has to be developed as the houses or other buildings in the subdivision are built. In this case, these open space areas are almost always the ownership and maintenance responsibility of the homeowner's association.

There is the third case, where the realtor tells the prospective buyer "that field behind your house is open space and will never be built on". That may or may not be true, and the only way to find out is to call the city or county planning department and ask them.

[McGowdog]

Well I'm glad the OP seems to be satisfied with the answers here, but I'm left more confused.

I'm confused about "Open Space" and "Green Belt"; the latter being the term the OP used vs. its intended uses here.

Another thing of confusion for me is the claim about who is responsible for the care of the land; be it open space or green belt.

So I did that dreaded thing; I went to Wiki, and they say,

A green belt or greenbelt is a policy or land use designation used in land use planning [link not mine]to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land [link not mine] surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways [link not mine] or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an urban area instead of around it.

So now I'm more confused because they added two more terms; greenways and green wedges.

I do know how things work in Nature; maybe the same applies for real estate. Always and Never are both lies for neither will withstand the test of time.