City Council has voted 3-2 to eliminate all lot size requirements for ADUs in all three old neighborhoods in Durango. In doing so, they ignored a large segment of the city’s population. The Community Development Department has offered unreliable and continually changing data, including a last-minute revision that increased the allowable units from 1,106 to 1,625 lots – a 50% increase to what’s currently eligible in these already-dense neighborhoods.
Councilors (aside from Kip Koso and Mayor Gilda Yazzie) completely disregarded the Community Development Commission’s recommendation to limit the lot sizes required, and they rushed through their vote with little discussion.
It feels disrespectful to engaged citizens after so much time and energy in meetings, emails, letters and writings in the Herald. The gradual weakening of ADU requirements since 2014 has further eroded citizens’ trust.
Major issues still stand out: The CDC’s recommendation from September should be thoroughly studied and debated. The city’s aging infrastructure must be reported on, with an up-to-date status of pipes as to whether they can withstand more water and sewer impact. Why not get compliance for ADUs in place before adding more? And there needs to be some representation of residents’ concerns about diminishing quality of life – more noise, traffic, blockage of sun and sky, parking, night lights, dogs, etc. It’s called due diligence.
The next council vote is Wednesday the 18th (the meeting changed due to Presidents Day). Hopefully, this time they’ll make a more thoughtful decision to either table this for more study or vote no!
Martha McClellan
Durango
