Durango City Council on Tuesday agreed to subdivide the property that makes up Buckley Park and the Durango School District 9-R Administration Building into two properties, which will pave the way for the city to take ownership of the park.
The division of the 4.73-acre plot is necessary to continue with the separate sales of the 9-R Administration Building to the Durango Fire Protection District, and Buckley Park to the city.
Council continued the hearing about the Buckley Park subdivision from its Oct. 19 meeting to give staff members time to redraw the lines of the subdivision to maximize the amount of space that can be used as part of the park.
“I think that in the two weeks it took for us to do, which is a minimal amount of time, that this is awesome,” said Durango Mayor Kim Baxter
City staff members have drawn a new line that follows the paved parking lot at the top of the hill in Buckley Park to be the dividing line between the Administration Building and the park.
The revised property lines for the subdivision allocate an additional 0.22 acres as part of Buckley Park. The adopted split of properties notes the Administration Building as being 3.08 acres, and the park being 1.66 acres.
Both council and members of the public voiced concern at the last meeting about making sure as many trees remained on Buckley Park property as possible, and that the park's hillside continue to provide enough space for sledding during the winter.
“The change of property line was spurred by someone coming in to talk, because it was an easy change,” said City Councilor Jessika Buell. “I appreciate it, and I think it made this that much better.”
City Planning Manager Scott Shine commended residents on their public comments at council’s last meeting, which played a role in prompting council to have staff members take another look at proposed property lines.
“I’m fully ready to give credit to the public that showed up and advocated for the revisions,” Shine said. “That’s part of the public process, and it’s why we have hearings.”
One resident, Ted Wright, made a point to thank the City Council for listening to public concerns about the Buckley Park subdivision.
Many residents continue to ask City Council to stop the sale of the 9-R building to the fire district. However, the sale of the Administration Building is a private sale between the school district and the fire district, which the city has no authority over.
njohnson@durangoherald.com
