The Bayfield town board Tuesday officially approved the annexation of a roughly 94-acre working cattle ranch and plans to consider annexing another ranch in March.
During Tuesday’s meeting, trustees approved the annexation of L-J Ranch, a working cattle ranch and wedding venue on Bayfield’s west end. Consideration of annexing McCoy Ranch was tabled until the March 10 Planning Commission meeting. Both properties are in unincorporated La Plata County.
Town planner Derrick Slocum said the ranches are the first of their kind to seek annexation into Bayfield under the new Agriculture Zone District, which was established in late 2024.
“The way the agriculture zone was designed, property within that district can maintain, protect and encourage farmland and farming activities,” Slocum said in an email to The Durango Herald.
L-J’s owners still have some hurdles to clear before the annexation is finalized – they must obtain approval for an annexation ordinance, agreement and map, Slocum said. Once the necessary signatures are obtained, three copies of each document must be recorded with the La Plata County Recorder. Under C.R.S. 31-12-113(2)(b), completion of those steps makes the annexation effective.
“In general, whenever any property is annexed into a town or city, it subjects the property to that municipality’s taxes, zoning and building codes and regulations,” Slocum said. “(Annexation) extends the municipality’s boundaries and the ability to access the municipality’s services.”
That includes any new construction or modification to existing structures on the land, Slocum said.
Slocum said that because L-J is zoned for agriculture, its owners can maintain the property’s existing water rights. Once annexed, L-J would be able to access Bayfield’s public services, though it would not be immediately required to connect to utilities such as water and sewer.
Slocum said that section 6-5 in the Bayfield Land Use Code says that “properties annexed and zoned as agriculture ‘A’ are not required to dedicate water rights to the town until such time that the property wants to rezone to a use other than agriculture for development purposes.”
The property would, however, be required to contribute to other town services like road maintenance, taxation, public improvements and policing.
“Now, once there is a failure or capacity issue with those existing on-site services, then they would be required to connect to the town’s service,” Slocum said.
Slocum said annexation is a lengthy process with many required steps. La Plata County has limited involvement when a property is annexed into a municipality.
“The county is sent a copy of the Notice, Resolution of Intent, Petition and required reports,” Slocum said. “This information was sent to the Board of County Commissioners by registered mail. If needed, the county can comment on the annexation, but they are not required to.”
Additionally, once the ranch is annexed into Bayfield, Slocum said, the property owners must comply with all town codes, regulations, laws and other requirements.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
