The contentious reworked Master Plan for La Plata County hit another roadblock Thursday night when the Planning Commission decided to again halt discussion and seek direction from the Board of County Commissioners on what the plan should encompass.

“The plan we’re currently viewing doesn’t meet the goal we had in mind,” said Planning Commissioner Stephen Kallaher. “I want it focused more on land-use code and infrastructure.”

Kallaher and other commissioners said the plan focuses on social and ideological issues, and it has divided the county.

The Planning Commission has been charged with assembling a comprehensive plan to guide development in the county for the next 20 years.

Commissioners originally were given a 346-page plan based on input from 150 community meetings and $300,000 in consultation fees, but they later condensed it into a 30- or 40-page document. But that trim ignited a public outcry seeking the dismissal of the commissioners.

The original plan didn’t address land-use regulations as the commission expected, so commissioners condensed it in an attempt to salvage the document so it could be used to guide development, Planning Commission Chairman Travis Craig said.

However, the Master Plan still doesn’t address land-use regulations, and the commission needs guidance from the Board of County Commissioners on what they want in the plan before proceeding with discussions, he said.

Planning commissioners voiced frustration about their current situation.

“Who are we, and what do we do?” Alternate Commissioner Jim Tencza asked. “It depends on what paper you read.”

Multiple definitions of the role of the Planning Commission appear on the county website, and the group currently has no clear purpose or way to move forward in creating a comprehensive plan without getting more direction, Tencza said.

This latest bottleneck could appease the county residents who attended the Board of County Commissioners meeting Tuesday to ask commissioners to shelve the Master Plan and start the process over.

“I think we can do better if you let us start over,” resident Jim Fitzgerald said at the meeting.

jdahl@durangoherald.com