I attended the BOCC meeting in Marvel and wanted to thank Commissioners Westendorff and Blake for their commitment to not vote for the Land Use Code unless it had public support. Sadly, Commissioner Lachelt did not offer such a pledge.
The main concern of the commissioners and staff was the need to make future development easier and more streamlined. As a former general contractor, I understand this.
From the audience, we heard worries about the process: In order to update the code, it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel. If future growth and development is the primary concern, why not address that specifically and let me worry about the height of my fences? Also, if and when zoning will take place, what will that look like, and what protections will we be given against property devaluation?
The most frustrating part of this process is how the process itself is constantly changing. First they contracted KKC to write Module 1, then it was going to be modified, after that it was going to be scrapped but they would use the framework, and at the meeting in Marvel we were told, “The new LUC will look nothing like Module 1.”
Without a current draft, how do we know what regulations the BOCC wants to impose? Without transparency, how do we have open discussions? Without a pledge from all three commissioners to a process that includes public support, how do we know the interests of the citizens will be heard?
Larry Rowe
Durango
