As I have talked to people over the last year or so, one topic comes up regularly: As Durango grows and changes, what exactly is the plan?
I have talked to business owners, residents of the city and county, and many visitors who come year after year. All have seen the growth in the area so far and have read in The Durango Herald, or heard from others, about upcoming changes. To the casual observer, it seems that there is no real plan to develop responsibly and to maintain the unique character of the city and the county.
There are guiding documents. You can find both short- and long-term plans on the city and county websites. The county planning document is focused on the period from 2023 to 2028. There are solid bullet points in the plan, but many of them are open to interpretation. The city plan, written in 2006, is quite a bit more detailed. It even includes the recommendation to change the four lanes to three, which was done several years ago, and to widen the sidewalks. The pilot project for that is happening now, at the cost of $400,000. Parking is already a real issue in town, yet there is nothing being done to address that. There are other considerations you can read about, but I don’t have enough word space to address.
Last week, an article in the Herald let us know that a Florida developer had purchased an “empty lot in downtown Durango” and planned to build a four-story apartment and commercial complex. A couple of things stand out just from the headline. Buildings in the city have always been limited to three stories and the lot isn’t completely empty. The Studio & Gallery is on it. The apartments in the new building will be owned, not rented, and include penthouses. The first Principle and Objective on the city planning document is to “keep downtown authentic, a place that belongs to locals while being attractive to visitors.”
Getting away from Main Avenue and extending into the county, it seems that our elected and planning officials have bought entirely in to the old “bigger is better” mantra. This country seems to have a fascination with corporations. Every year we see that one or more big box stores and chain restaurants are moving into the area. Study after study has shown that when that happens, small businesses are forced out. Profits from sales in the big chains leave the area. Many of these small businesses are part of what makes a community special. They are places that locals hang out. They support community programs. Recently, the airport took a bid from a larger company and replaced the local bar and coffee shop that had been there for more than 30 years. Many a local traveler stopped by to visit with each other and the employees.
As I have said in previous essays, change is inevitable. Guiding that change is the difficult part. Detailed plans that are almost 20 years old could not have foreseen everything that has happened since. Recent plans that don’t go in to detail leave too many things open. None consider the impact on individual people.
To our elected officials: What is your guiding vision? Do you want us to be like Boulder? Aspen? Write articles. Get on the radio. Don’t make us sit through meetings or read through pages of plans. You owe the voters direct answers.
Scott Perez is a Durango area-based former working cowboy, guide and occasional actor. He has a master’s in Natural Resource Management from Cornell University.
