Unlike all the discussion about building a new terminal at the Durango-La Plata Airport, and how to pay for it, the County Planning Commission process to update the 2001 Comprehensive Plan for land around the airport has been a very quiet affair.
Planning commissioners and county planning staffers spent most of their June 2 comp plan meeting on final word-smithing.
Planning Commission Chair Jim Tencza noted the 2001 plan has two pages about the airport area. The draft update has eight.
The update uses a lot of data from the separate 2015 Airport Master Plan that lays out three options for a passenger terminal that meets current needs and can accommodate future growth.
Planning commissioner Frank Lockwood noted that enplanement statistics represent people flying out of DRO (the airline designation for the airport). The other half of airport traffic is arrivals. He wants specific reference in the comp plan "that the airport is about half the size it should be today, something more specific than that it's not adequate for the current passenger load."
Reference to the current terminal being 41,500 square feet includes the tent structure, Lockwood said. He wants the comp plan to show the square footage just for the actual terminal without the tent. "It's a lot smaller," he said.
The update lists one goal for DRO: "The Airport should sufficiently meet the needs of traveling public, persons, and area businesses in a manner that is safe, economical, and environmentally sound." Under that are four objectives, each with a set of supporting policies.
These include an inventory of land in and around the airport that could accommodate commercial or industrial uses, and to look for ways to promote such complementary uses.
Land use along primary transportation corridors to and around the airport is another. At the May 5 meeting, planning commissioner Lucy Baizel raised the issue of viewsheds, what visitors see on arrival and on their way into Durango, that it doesn't become strip commercial development.
A policy was added to "Identify and establish strategies to protect wildlife, viewsheds, and recreational opportunities within the vicinity of DRO."
Tencza commented at the June 2 meeting, "We want to keep viewsheds even from the tarmac. People get off the plane and say, 'Look at those mountains!' This is a tourist airport to some extent. You've got that 'wow' factor."
Baizel said her concern was the entire corridor from the airport to Durango. Tencza said other comp plan elements (chapters) cover that.
Policy options include corridor overlays to identify appropriate land uses; an airport overlay zone to articulate compatible uses; possible land use code provisions for "avigation" easements where appropriate; and possible use of "1041 Powers" authorized by state statute for areas of state interest to manage land uses around the airport.
The comp plan itself is advisory. Any regulatory aspect would be in the land use code. The airprt element also includes a brief section on Animas Air Park.
Planning commissioners are scheduled to certify the airport section at their July 7 meeting and move on to the section on housing. Tencza asked planning commissioners to start thinking now about their comments for the housing element. He speculated that housing will be one of the tougher elements.
"We have a lot to write for the housing element," Planning Director Damian Peduto said.
Planning commissioners certified five elements in November 2015 and sent those to the County Commissioners for comments. Those are the introduction, growth trends, agriculture, infrastructure, and extractive resources/renewable energy. Peduto indicated planning commissioners will review the County Commissioner comments at the July 7 meeting. It's the planning commission that has approval authority on the comp plan.
