The Animas River flows through the 122-acre Animas Meanders Ranch, dedicated open sapce, north of 32nd Street. The city is proposing a pipeline through three properties that would drain stormwater to a holding pond on the ranch, where it would settle out before entering the Animas. So far, the city has yet to reach a compromise with landowners./Photo by Todd Newcomer.

by Will Sands

The waters are beginning to boil around a City of Durango plan for drainage just north of town. Efforts to negotiate transfers with three separate land owners have yet to bear fruit, and citing concerns over public safety, the city is threatening to condemn pieces of the property. At least one of the property owners alleges that the plan is ill-conceived and that environmental health is what the City of Durango should be concerned about.

Stormwater, the drainage from rain and snow, in the vicinity of 32nd Street has long presented a problem for the city. As a result, a proposal known as the “Holly Avenue Storm Drainage Project” has been on the books for a number of years.

The plan would be to collect run-off from rain and snow at the junction of 32nd Street and Holly and divert it to a holding pond, where garbage and large particulates would be filtered out. The water would then be piped underground to an oxbow lake in the vicinity of the Animas River. The natural filtration of the oxbow and the wetlands would further clean the water before it went into the Animas and flowed downstream (see related story).

The project would serve two purposes, according to Kinsey Holton, a civil engineer with Durango Public Works: keep excess water off of 32nd Street and clean up the stormwater before it enters the Animas.

“One goal is to get some contaminant removal, but the number one purpose is conveying the water to the Animas,” he said. “Right now, we don’t have adequate storm drainage facilities for that area of town. The Holly Project is ultimately to alleviate flooding along 32nd Street.”

The city has considered a variety of options for the north Durango stormwater, including a small water-treatment plant and rebuilding 32nd Street to accommodate a pipeline. However, routing a pipe directly to the Animas and using the natural filtration of wetlands was deemed to be the least expensive approach.

“We’ve looked at a variety of different options over the years,” Holton explained. “This one is the most cost effective.”

With increasing construction and development in the vicinity of 32nd Street and County Road 250, the project needs to happen in the near term, according to City Manager Bob Ledger.

“We are now at the stage where we really need to get this project done because of the development up around 32nd and County Road 250,” he said. “In order to make sure the storm drainage is properly handled, we need to carry it down to the Animas.”

There are currently three major impediments to the Holly Project, however. Before the pipe gets to the banks of the Animas, it must cross three separate pieces of private property. So far, none of the three owners – Paul Sugnet, Tony Whittle or Larry Simmons – have been persuaded to sell. Ledger said that negotiations have failed to pay off, as of yet.

“What we attempted to do was negotiate transactions with the three property owners,” he said. “Quite frankly, we haven’t gotten that far with them.”

As a result, the city is considering pulling its ace-in-the-hole – condemnation. While the owners would be reimbursed fair market value for the property in question, it would effectively be seized. Because of the force of the action, condemnation, or filing for eminent domain, is an action that has rarely been taken by the City of Durango.

“Right now, we’re still trying to negotiate , but we’re prepared to file for eminent domain if need be,” Ledger noted. “We are always very reluctant to even consider condemnation for obvious reasons.”

Ledger was hard-pressed to think of a single case in Durango’s history where the city took that step and seized private property. However, he did quickly relate a recent close call. During efforts to link up the Animas River Trail via the new Main Avenue underpass, the city met with resistance from several property owners. At that time, the city considered using its powers of condemnation on two separate parcels. In the end, cooperation prevailed.

“Condemnation was contemplated in a couple cases when we looked at extending the Animas River Trail under Main Avenue,” Ledger said. “Luckily, negotiation prevailed there, and I’m hoping it will here as well. I’m hoping it won’t come to us having to move forward with legal options.”

Ledger argued that in the end, the project will be relatively insignificant in terms of impacts to the pieces of property.

“We’re talking about taking a swath of land and putting a storm drainage pipe in it,” he said. “It’s not like we’re talking about a gigantic tunnel.”

At least one of the property owners takes a different view of the Holly Project. Paul Sugnet, who owns the 122-acre Animas Meanders Ranch, argued that siphoning stormwater through the property could have a major impact on wetlands. Sugnet’s ranch is dedicated as permanent open space and he has spent the past decade working to restore the ranch’s wetlands. In addition, Mercy Medical Center, the Tierra Group and the Colorado Department of Transportation have all enhanced or created wetlands on the ranch to mitigate development elsewhere.

“I’ve been working on restoring wetlands on the property for more than 10 years,” Sugnet said. “Four or five years ago, the city came to me about doing this with their stormwater. At first, they were looking at pre-treating the water before they put it in the river. Then they came up with this new plan to just dump it into my wetlands.”

Sugnet commented that negotiations have failed because the environmental costs could be too high. He countered that the city seems to be approaching the problem with only the bottom line in mind and is ignoring potential damage to the Animas.

“Those wetlands are primarily for wildlife habitat, and I was hoping they would find another alternative,” he said. “They could go straight down 32nd Street, but said it was too expensive. I guess I feel like the city’s analysis is strictly based on monetary factors.”

The decision on whether to proceed with condemnation will rest with the Durango City Council. Mayor Dale Garland said that none of the councilors are taking the responsibility lightly.

“Condemnation is not something we want to make a habit of doing,” he said. “We’re hoping we can come to an agreement with the land owners, but when you look at issues of public safety, sometimes you have to take hard steps.” •