City opens lines of communication
Durango seeks the community’s vision of the future

Durango experiences a rare sleepy afternoon on the corner of Main and College Drive. This Saturday, the City of Durango will be holding an all-day public "visioning" workshop to take a look at where residents would like to see Durango head in the future and to brainstorm ideas on how to get it there. Ideas from the workshop will be implemented into the city's Comprehensive Plan, which is now undergoing revisions./Photo by Todd Newcomer.

by Missy Votel

Although River Trails Ranch may be a distant memory for many area residents, the defeat of the massive development left at least one legacy for Durango. Partially due to response from citizens during the River Trails review process, the City of Durango has decided to revisit its 1997 Comprehensive Plan.

According to City Planner Greg Hoch, the city first undertook a review of the plan in 2001. However, several new development proposals, including River Trails Ranch, Grandview and Ewing Mesa, kept city staff busy, postponing the update. But during this time, Hoch said the need to work on the comp plan became increasingly apparent.

"During the River Trails Ranch debate, everyone kept saying, 'The city doesn't have a plan,' or they didn't like the way it was," he said. "So, combined with the city's previous attempts at updating it, we decided to start from the base."

To that end, the city is holding a community visioning workshop this weekend, designed to gather input and ideas from residents on how they would like to see Durango and surrounding lands in the future. It kicks off Friday night with a presentation by Luther Probst, executive director of the Sonoran Institute, and continues Saturday with a day-long public workshop.

"For all those people who say the city doesn't care, here's an opportunity to have your voice heard," said Hoch.

Hoch said the events are open to "all city and county residents who feel like they want a say in how the city is growing." He emphasized the inclusion of county residents because, although the city is hosting the workshop, many of the issues extend beyond city limits. He pointed to the fact that over the last 30 years, the population of La Plata County has grown by 137 percent, while Durango's population has grown by 45 percent.

"The numbers speak for themselves," he said.

The Saturday workshop will include three small-group discussion sessions examining what values are most important to local residents, what their visions and goals are for the future, and what steps can be taken to accomplish these goals. From there, the city will take its findings, as well as ones from upcoming community forums, and apply them to the comp plan.

"The next step will be to get a product that summarizes what we heard," he said.

Hoch said the Sonoran Institute, an organization that promotes sustainable, living communities throughout the West, came aboard based on input from citizens and City Council.

"Having the Sonoran Institute come was seen as a good idea backed by both the City Council and the Friends of the Animas Valley," he said. "Both were early supporters of the idea."

"Having the Sonoran Institute come was seen as a good idea backed by both the City Council and the Friends of the Animas Valley," he said. "Both were early supporters of the idea."

The Tucson-based nonprofit was founded in 1990 to help rapidly growing communities throughout the West reconcile conservation and sustainability with the values of residents. It also works to help communities preserve local identity in the face of growth, while stimulating economy and protecting resources. Over the years, the Sonoran Institute has helped communities conserve and restore more than 200,000 acres, leverage more than $42 million for open space and establish more than a dozen local conservation organizations.

Probst's Friday night program will begin with an overview of challenges facing rural communities in the West and will follow with a focus on the impacts of growth.

According to Ray Rasker, faculty with the Sonoran Institute, one such impact faced by La Plata County is an influx of "baby boomers," who have moved here seeking a higher quality of life. Although they have helped nudge the number of households with annual earnings between $50,000 and $100,000 higher than it was a decade ago, 37 percent of total personal income in the county comes from investments and retirement-related payments. La Plata County also differs from others throughout the state and nation in that it has a more educated populace and higher rates of growth in population, employment and per capita income. However, this does not necessarily equate to more opportunity. Housing is noticeably less affordable than it was 10 years ago, and money is steadily flowing out of the county from people who work in Durango but live in adjacent counties.

However, according to Probst, Durango is not alone in its plight. Virtually every community throughout the West surrounded by public lands, so-called "gateway communities," have experienced such unprecedented growth.

"They're all dealing with rapid growth," he said. "The landscape creates both opportunity and challenges."

However, he said Durango can benefit from the experiences of others.

"We can share the lesson we've learned and are learning about gateway communities," he said.

Probst said the first step of the Sonoran Institute is to open the lines of communication so a cohesive vision for the future can be devised.

"There's a lot of public interest in land-use decisions, which can create polarization," he said. "We want to get people together and to back up. It sounds Polly-Anna, but we've had success doing this in the past."

Durango Mayor Joe Colgan echoed this, pointing out there is no better alternative for community planning than people rolling up their sleeves and coming to the table.

"There is absolutely no substitute in the City Council's attempts to be able to determine what the public wants than to bring people together to discuss and exchange their ideas," he said. "I encourage everyone who wants a say in Durango's future to attend and participate this weekend."