A firm tasked with rewriting La Plata County’s land-use code has laid out a path for the process, including which concerns will be addressed and how the new code will be formatted.
Texas-based land-use planning company Kendig Keast Collaborative met last week with stakeholder groups that represent various land-use interests and took a tour of the county.
Company owner and Chief Executive Officer Bret Keast said stakeholders – which include agricultural, business and residential interests – were open-minded and articulate about their concerns, which included water access, the importance of growth and development, and conservation.
“There is so much diversity and uniqueness in this county, it warrants and requires we adopt to the environments of certain areas,” Keast said.
“Agriculturists want preservation for those uses. They’re concerned about the landscape being polka-dotted with residences.
“Others are concerned with wildlife and wilderness corridors.”
Company representatives met with stakeholder groups individually to gain a more intimate understanding of their expectations, Keast said.
To accommodate various interests, Keast said the company intends to clearly outline permissible uses throughout the county, which doesn’t necessarily mean countywide zoning.
“I don’t want the misunderstanding that we’re going to zone this place border to border,” he said.
“There are places that lend themselves to that, and others that are the furthest from that.”
The key is to ensure the code is organized in a manner that it clearly answers the following for both residents and technical users:
What is the zoning classification for a given property.What uses are permitted there. Where and how much building is permissible.What are the design standards.What are the standards for approval or denial, and who has the authority to do that?Keast said thoroughly conveying the requirements of the code might mean more language and a thicker document, which, he emphasized, does not mean an increase in regulations.
Keast said the company is not working with a completely clean slate; some components of the code, such as those governing oil and gas production, will stay in the new document.
A completed draft is expected this time next year.
County commissioners, who will guide the process, voiced their concerns to consider as the code is drafted, including the county’s dependence on the city of Durango for water, as well as the importance of being able to provide services to rural parts of the county, and the planning process for businesses.
“One of the biggest complaints we get is cost and how long it takes for a business to get through planning,” Commissioner Brad Blake said.
“I hope as we go through this, we consider how to mitigate time issues. I know there are a lot of factors at play, but we need to get the time down to something manageable.”
Dave Baird, a senior associate with Kendig Keast, said addressing that is among the firm’s primary goals.
“One thing we’ve found, whether it’s a city, county or any other state, developers accept a higher standard if you give them a better process,” he said. “We’re talking to planning about ways we can do that.”
In the coming weeks, Kendig Keast will roll out a public outreach strategy, which is intended to be inclusive and accessible, and include both formal and informal meetings with residents.
“If they don’t come to us, we’ll go to them,” Keast said.
jpace@durangoherald.com
