Local officials and municipal attorneys say they are worried a proposed constitutional amendment backed by the Colorado Farm Bureau and the oil and gas industry will blunt ability of cities, towns and counties to make many land-use decisions.

The measure is Initiative 108. Backers are currently gathering signatures in hopes of placing the measure on the fall ballot.

It would enable property owners to seek compensation if a law or regulation reduces their land’s “fair market value.” Under current law, a government has to compensate only if a property is taken by eminent domain or its action leaves the land with no economic use.

Switching from a total taking to fair market value could spawn countless lawsuits over a myriad of basic local land-use decisions such as zoning and siting municipal facilities, said Robert Widner, an attorney who represents cities, towns, counties and special districts.

“Every time government acts, it is going to ask, ‘Are we putting ourselves at risk?’” Widner said. “It is totally burning the forest down on a very large scale.”

Sam Mamet, executive director of the Colorado Municipal League, said, “My advice to counties and municipalities is if this passes, don’t do anything … no zoning, no ordinances.”

The initiative’s supporters say the critics are exaggerating the proposed amendment’s impacts.

“The fact that municipal governments are scared and have a sky-is-falling scenario is indicative that we need this to protect our property,” said Shawn Martini, the Farm Bureau’s vice president of advocacy. “The other option is giving up some of our rights under the constitution.”

The Farm Bureau’s support begins with its right-to-farm concerns. The oil and gas industry, which is backing the measure through its advocacy group Protect Colorado, is worried about local actions limiting access to fossil-fuel reserves.

“I understand their concerns, but local and county government is collateral damage here,” Mamet said..

Embedding policy in Colorado’s constitution — from the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights to legalizing marijuana — has often created policy and management problems after the fact, said Richard Collins, a professor of constitutional law at University of Colorado Boulder law school.

“You can’t anticipate everything in an amendment,” Collins said. “There is a lot of stuff that is in our constitution that in a rational world would be in statute, which is easier to correct.”