Changes to the city of Durango’s land use and development code and its Fair Share Program administrative manual should create more flexibility in how the city works internally and with developers to increase its housing stock.

City Council approved those changes on Tuesday. The proposed land use and development code amendments span all seven chapters of the code, although the most significant change is the creation of the Community Development Commission.

Many amendments across the code are simply changes to reference the CDC rather than other boards and commissions that will be phased out.

Starting in February, the CDC will take over responsibilities currently handled by the city’s Planning Commission, Design Review Board and Board of Adjustment. City Council will appoint members to the new commission.

Durango Community Development Director Scott Shine said creating the CDC will address four main points:

It will “facilitate more integrated, holistic and clear” planning and development processes.

It will “enable city staff to work directly with appointed community members to improve outdated plans and guidelines to guide our community’s growth and development.”

It will “seek the right fit” for representation of the community.

And it will “reduce administrative burdens.”

The proposed board will have seven members. Two of the members would be selected for their expertise and qualifications in architecture, design and planning, while the remaining five will only require residency in the city of Durango, Shine said.

He said the city is seeking a shift toward broader city planning discussions about where and what kind of growth the community wants to see.

“We want to maintain some of that expertise, but we don’t want to weight it too much toward industry insiders or special interests or anything,” he said. “So we didn’t choose to make that a majority (of CDC members).”

The commission will help develop a new guiding document for city planning. Consolidating tasks spread among the Planning Commission, Design Review Board and Board of Adjustment will also save Community Development staff time spent preparing for meetings and other administrative duties related to the three outgoing boards.

Durango Code Reform Administrator Lily Oswald said the Community Development Department also does administrative duties for the Historic Preservation Board, the Creative Economy Commission and the Urban Renewal Authority, which will continue except in the case of the CEC.

The CEC sunsets in mid-2024, and the Durango Creative District will assume oversight of CEC responsibilities.

Applications to the CDC will open to the public in December. The Planning Commission’s last regular meeting is planned for January, and the proposed code amendments will take place Feb. 1.

In February, City Council will interview CDC applicants and appoint members to the commission. The first CDC meeting will also happen that month.

Land use and development code amendments also included clarifications to shared wall, parking and floor area requirements for accessory dwelling units.

Oswald said the amendments were proposed to help city code related to ADU applications go through the review process more quickly, help staff maintain consistency when processing applications and ultimately create more affordable housing units for the city in the form of more ADUs.

During a public hearing on Tuesday about the proposed ordinances, Durango resident Julie Cooley said the city should eliminate regulations for ADUs entirely.

She said she favors statewide changes to ADU requirements proposed by Gov. Jared Polis, something City Council did not support.

“I’d just like to say get rid of the whole requirements for ADU and for the zoning of, for instance, residential (zone) 1,” she said. “I think the governor is right. We as cities have failed and it’s very evident when you look at the cost of housing.”

City Council will have a final reading of the ordinance in December.

Durango Housing Innovation Manager Eva Henson said updates to the city’s Fair Share Program manual eliminate references to the Regional Housing Alliance and replace them with the city’s nonprofit partner HomesFund.

HomesFund, along with the Community Development, has authority to review fair share proposals submitted by developers.

The changes also address a previous rule that forbade third-party subsidies to developers, which conflicts with the city’s ability to tap into economic opportunities for more affordable housing.

“We want to reduce those and incentivize and facilitate construction as well as bridge that disparity in cost between homeownership and rental pricing,” she said.

cburney@durangoherald.com