A view of the proposed River Trails Ranch “town square” with a view of the elementary school in the distance./Courtesy City of Durango

Eight hundred new units have been proposed for the property formerly known as the Kroeger Ranch. Developers Bob Wolff and John Wessman have filed an application for River Trails Ranch, a development on 245 acres immediately north of Durango in the Animas Valley. The development team is hoping for development approval and annexation approval, which would bring River Trails Ranch within city limits.

Seizing on the New Urbanism approach, the plan calls for a variety of housing types immediately north of Durango off County Road 250. The development plan also contains space for businesses, schools, parks and open space in the Animas River floodplain. Wolff and Wessman have retained Berkeley, Calif.-based Calthorpe Associates, pioneers in the New Urbanism movement having co-founded the Congress of New Urbanism.

The Conceptual Development Plan’s narrative reads, “Nestled in the Animas River near central Durango, River Trails Ranch will be a multi-use New Urbanism community with a full range of services and amenities.”

The narrative goes on to state, “The development at River Trails Ranch will become a compact, walkable community of 800 units, with a wide range of housing choices, retail, employment and civic uses, parks and ample recreational opportunities that capitalize on the site’s proximity to the Animas River.”

The Master Site Plan shows a development rimmed with estate-sized lots with lots growing smaller toward the interior of the development. Plans also are for numerous standard-sized single-family lots, triplexes, green courts (“alley-fed homes clustered around a common green”), townhouses, garden apartments, tuck-under apartments, residential offices for live and work, and mixed-use areas including retail, office and residences.

The narrative states, “A village center is located in the southern half, anchored by a 12-acre school site, with a community center, a day care and small retail space 85 Higher-density housing types and live/work flex spaces are clustered around the village center. Large lots are located closer to the flood plain.”

The narrative continues, “The northern half of the site is centered by a wide boulevard, with a landscaped median that captures and frames the mountain views up the river valley 85 This road is lined with higher-density housing types, a mix of triplex mansion homes and town homes.”

The entire plan is built around a village center where residents can “work, live, shop and gather.” This center will be adjacent to County Road 250. The plan says that the elementary school will provide a focal point for the development.

Last year, La Plata County approved a plan for 67 units on large parcels for the 245 acres. However, when Wolff and Wessman approached the City of Durango for water and sewer service, they were told that 67 units did not square with the city’s Comprehensive Plan, which calls for 600 to 800 units in that area.

The first Planning Commission hearing on River Trails Ranch will take place this Thursday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers. Peter Calthorpe will be on hand to explain the project.