Details about the Durango Crossings development proposal for a site near Florida Road and East Animas Road (County Road 250) are sparse, but Durango City Council approved changes to the city’s future comprehensive plan land-use map to accommodate high-density workforce and market-rate housing there.
A public hearing was held earlier this month where councilors approved changes to the future land-use map to designate what was medium-density parcels as now being mixed- and high-density uses. Medium-density parcels can accommodate up to a dozen units while as high-density parcels can have up to twice as many units.
Dan Armentano, city planner, said the city identified the area as a place for development and issued a request for proposals last fall. Ken Trujillo, a developer who owns three parcels in the proposed project area, pitched plans to build over 100 workforce and market-rate housing units, with at least half the units dedicated for workforce housing.
The workforce housing units would be deed-restricted, he said.
Changing the land-use designations to allow high density and mixed use lets the city maximize the density for the project and fit the highest number of market-rate and workforce housing units allowable by city code.
He said about 2 acres of steep hillsides and conservation open space will not be developed because the slopes are at grades of 30% or greater. And several city-owned parcels are designated as “rural,” an odd land-use designation that stipulates no more than one dwelling per 35 acres. But those are small parcels and not able to be developed.
Just one resident who lives on Florida Road near the proposed site commented at the public hearing. She said the hills behind the site are a haven for wildlife, but she didn’t express disapproval of the proposal.
Other residents at a neighborhood meeting held by the planning department had mostly supported the project, although a few people shared concerns about wildlife and impacts to traffic on Florida Road, Armentano said.
The city is waiting for Trujillo to submit a formal application before it delves into details of how the development could roll out, which will include a traffic study to measure the potential impact of high-density housing on the outskirts of city limits, he said.
In February, he said the development could include commercial uses such as a market or day care center on ground floors with residential units above on second floors.
He said the below-market rate units would be rental and are targeted for individuals and families with an area median income 70% to 120%. Market-rate units would sell for homeownership.
cburney@durangoherald.com
