The 2017 comprehensive plan for the city is complete and last week cleared its second-to-last hurdle before final approval.
City Council is expected to vote on it on Election Day. The plan and future councilors will help guide the growth and development of Durango’s lands, public facilities and city services through the year 2040 when, with our projected 1.8 percent rate of annual growth, La Plata County’s population is expected to be 85,770.
The 2017 plan was not quite like starting from scratch or revising a 30-year old plan, but still was quite an undertaking.
Comprehensive Plan Update and Arts and Culture Working Group members, planning commissioners and city councilors, almost 40 of the 300 citizens who voluntarily contributed to the effort, deserve our thanks. So do our city staff.
The document nicely responds to citizen concerns and desires, and changing times and demographics. Sustainability is a theme throughout – for buildings and transportation – as is a need for a continuum of housing for our residents.
Perhaps most importantly, the plan recognizes that our physical and economic vitality is dependent upon the quality of our air, water and land. It emphasizes connectivity with the Animas River, and through implementation of the Multi-Modal Master Plan includes a needed underpass to bridge downtown and the river.
We are also pleased to see that the plan now includes an updated vision statement that with the addition of one word, “creative,” more fully reflects our community. And for the first time, it includes an arts and culture chapter with plans for a convention center that could double as a performance venue.
We are pleased the specific number of 650 homes for development of the former River Trails Ranch property in the Animas Valley was removed. It was referred to as a “cap,” but we would argue, as citizens did back in 2003 when 800 units were proposed, that the sensitive and scenic Animas Valley is not an appropriate area for development.
This document guides our future development. It does not prescribe how we get there. That is up to the creativity and ingenuity of the community.
Kudos to all involved!
