The Durango City Council made final tweaks to the Comprehensive Plan Tuesday ahead of a vote expected on April 4.
The document lays out a plan for how the city could accommodate 16,000 more people expected to move to town by 2040, according to state demographer estimates.
The plan expects housing to be added atop Farmington Hill, in the Animas Valley, along Florida Road and in more multi-family developments in town. It also outlines goals for other city services and development. Mayor Christina Rinderle asked consultant Michael Lauer to add a downtown conference center to the plan to help bolster downtown activity.
“We want our downtown to maintain a diverse economic base,” she said.
Councilor Dick White asked Lauer to acknowledge the importance of the broadband internet in town.
Councilors and Durango Planning commissioners also discussed designating River Trails Ranch northwest of Durango on East Animas Road (County Road 250) for up to 650 homes. Some councilors and others questioned the inclusion of this number.
“I would hate to set us up for maybe a fight or something that is unnecessary,” Planning Commissioner Joe Lewandowski said.
The number is not binding, but it would give a developer and future city councilors an idea of what is needed to allow the developer to build the improvements the city would like to see in a future neighborhood, Lauer said
The city would like a developer to build affordable and attainable homes, trails, a transit stop and potentially improve East Animas Road.
The group did not come to a consensus on including the number or not.
Councilors White and Sweetie Marbury supported asking a potential developer to dedicate some of the land for a community garden.
“It’s some of the best agricultural land in the county,” White said.
The Durango Planning Commission is expected to vote on the plan Wednesday, and one of the hot topics is expected to be the density designation of the Puckett Electric site on Jameson Drive, which is for sale, said Planner Vicki Vandegrift.
The neighbors are concerned about what might be built on the site, even though there are no proposals right now. The neighbors would like to see it designated at low-density residential, which allows about five homes per acre, she said.
The Planning Commission hearing will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall, 949 East Second Ave.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
