Topics such as agriculture, open space and development will once again take center stage as La Plata County officials take up the Comprehensive Plan update. Using the 2001 plan as a model, the Planning Commission and public will steer the process, updating each section one by one. In March, they’ll take on “Introduction and Growth Trends.” The next section, which deals with agriculture, is scheduled for April and May. This process is expected to continue over the next couple of years./File photo

Back in the saddle

County ready to take on Comp Plan update – again

by Tracy Chamberlin

La Plata County is ready to get back in the game, taking another shot at updating the outdated Comprehensive Plan.

The last attempt began in 2009 with big dreams and a blank sheet of paper. It ended two years later with controversy, rumor and a pile of papers. But no plan. 

This time the county hopes a different approach might lead to a different outcome. Rather than attempting to create an entirely new document all at once, county officials are choosing to update the 2001 Comprehensive Plan one piece at a time.

“It’s not the hopes, dreams and ambitions it was before,” explained county principal planner Jason Meininger.

He calls this new endeavor a technical update. After all, the population has certainly changed in the past 15 years. As have the job market and other key elements of La Plata County’s demographic landscape.

Beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 5, with the introduction and a discussion on the area’s growth trends, the county Planning Department and Planning Commission will host a meeting the first Thursday of every month at the La Plata County Courthouse, 1060 E. 2nd Ave.

Every couple of months, they’ll address another chapter, updating and certifying each section individually.

It’s about taking bite-sized pieces, according to Planning Commission Chairman Jim Tenzca. Rather than reinvent the wheel, he said they’ll use the 2001 Comprehensive Plan as a model and address each section  one bite at a time.

At the end of March, county staff moves on from the introduction and growth trends, transitioning into the next chapter – agriculture – which is scheduled for commission and public review in April and May. This process will continue over the next couple of years.

Elements to be addressed in future meetings include: public safety; infrastructure; mineral resources; oil and gas development; the airport; environmental resources; housing and more.

Some topics do not have corresponding chapters in the 2001 Comp Plan, like infrastructure or extractive resources, like oil and gas development. As those topics are addressed they will be painted with the same broad brush as the rest of the document.

Tenzca said the Comp Plan is an advisory document, not a regulatory one, although regulation could come from the process. “If nothing else,” he said, “we’ll bring (the plan) into the current century.”

Tenzca was involved with the 2009-11 process. As an alternate on the Planning Commission, he wasn’t privy to the entire process. This time all commission members, including alternates, are a part of these monthly meetings. Just like the public.

They are, in fact, the two key players in this new approach: the commission and the residents of La Plata County.

One thing that became apparent to Tenzca during the previous attempt to update the Comp Plan were the distinct goals of residents living in the rural and urban areas of La Plata County.

All of the county’s residents moved here for different reasons, he explained. Whether they found a ranch property outside Bayfield, a 2-bedroom home just off historic Third Avenue in downtown Durango, or a 1-bedroom rental in the northern part of the county, each resident chose to live here for individual reasons.

“They have different visions,” Tenzca said. “How do we create a document that honors those visions?”

This new approach began Feb. 5 with an initial review of the process and continues through 2017, just after the Board of County Commissioner elections scheduled for November 2016. Although it could be a subject of the elections, the commissioners have little say in the Comp Plan’s final product.

As a matter of state statute, it’s the Planning Commission that certifies the official plan. It’s something else that’s different this time around. Instead of county staff and consultants working independently from the commission, Meininger said the commission is leading the charge.

After each element or chapter is initially discussed, he explained, it is sent back and forth until the final version is certified by the Planning Commission. After certification, affected parties can still challenge the final draft. But only for 180 days.

Once three to four chapters have been certified, they’ll send those to the Board of County Commissioners for input.

The board can send the chapters back with comments and suggestions, but that’s it. “The board can request the Planning Commission change something,” Meininger explained, “but it’s only a request.”