More acres in Horse Gulch will be permanently protected in December after the city purchases more land.
The councilors voted unanimously to grant the city manager authority to enter into a contract to purchase 113 acres of land on and adjacent to Raider Ridge for $678,000, during a meeting Monday night.
The city has applied for a grant through Great Outdoors Colorado for $380,690 to help offset the cost of land immediately east of the Skyridge subdivision.
Great Outdoors Colorado will announce whether or not the city will receive the grant Dec. 9.
If the city doesn’t receive the grant, it would still purchase 60 acres for $360,000 this year and the remaining 53 acres in 2015.
Counselor Christina Rinderle recalled it was about this time last year the city was closing on another parcel in Horse Gulch.
“We get to offer another Christmas present to the city of Durango,” she said.
She also thanked Kevin Hall the assistant director of community development for finding an alternative to purchase all the land if the grant doesn’t come through.
A trail access across the Raider Ridge land already exists. It runs across the top of the ridge, but the right to the trail could be revoked under the current agreement.
This purchase is part of a larger deal the city has been negotiating with a private landowner since early 2013.
The first phase of the negotiations closed in December 2013, when the city bought 87 acres, according to city documents.
If the city receives the grant to purchase the land, it would be required to place the land in a conservation easement.
The city currently owns about 1,376 acres in Horse Gulch.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
This story has been updated to reflect the correct number of acres the city owns in Horse Gulch. Incorrect information was given to the Herald.
