La Plata County and the city of Durango have outlined the next steps in their joint effort to establish a managed camp in Durango, agreeing to move ahead with the siting of the camp on land the county is under contract to buy along U.S. Highway 160 near the Durango Dog Park.
County commissioners and City Council held a joint meeting April 28 during which the county presented its plans to purchase 1.1 acres of land within city limits for a managed camp. The county asked for fiscal and administrative support from the city while councilors expressed their intent to help the county turn the property into a managed camp.
“One of the contract contingencies is that in order to complete this purchase and transaction, we’ve got to get land-use approval from the city of Durango,” said County Manager Chuck Stevens. “We have to, because we don’t need the land. We don’t need these four parcels if we can’t put a managed camp on it.
“This is where we can really partner and this is where we hope the city of Durango will be able to help us,” he said.
The county requested three specific actions from City Council: an emergency ordinance establishing and authorizing the managed camp at the site; the expedited review and approval of any land-use applications for the camp; and the use of joint sales tax revenues to establish, operate and maintain the camp.
Stevens acknowledged that the managed camp site will likely require rezoning and “creative thinking” on the part of the city to ensure that it complies with the city’s land-use code.
The county’s closing date on the $1.7 million four-parcel property could be as early as July 15 or as late as Nov. 1. City Councilor Jessika Buell asked Stevens and Kevin Hall, the city’s managing director of community development, if that would give the city enough time to go through its land-use process.
Stevens and the county have previously said they intend to close Purple Cliffs in 2022.
“Everything we do from a land-use perspective is codified in the land-use code or in the comprehensive plan. The idea of expediting isn’t really something that’s there,” Hall said.
Hall and Stevens told the elected leaders that the timing of approval for the managed camp would come down to how quickly the county can develop a proposal request and find an operator for the camp. The operator will ultimately create the development and operational plans for the managed camp that will have to go through the city’s planning process.
The county aims to release the proposal sometime this week, said Ted Holteen, spokesman for La Plata County.
Once the city has plans in hand, staff members can begin to figure out the steps the city needs to take to rezone the property, as well as the land-use code changes the city would need to make to permit a managed camp. Hall pegged June as a reasonable deadline for when the planning process would need to begin to meet the county’s November deadline.
“Our code isn’t built for a camp of any nature. It’s not a campground we’re talking about. It’s not even a shelter,” Hall said. “We have some work to do. However, I think the Nov. 1 date certainly fits within going through (the) public hearing and planning process with the Planning Commission and then going to council and doing the same thing.”
Buell also asked Stevens for a preliminary estimate for the managed camp’s annual budget. The county estimates the camp will cost about $250,000 per year, however, the operator will produce a final cost estimate with some of that money likely coming from grants, Stevens said.
The financial support required from the county and the city and the joint sales tax fund will depend on that final estimate.
La Plata County and the city have spent years vetting more than 30 sites around Durango for a managed camp, but the governments have previously failed to find a suitable location.
In December, the county held a public meeting where Stevens announced plans to locate a managed camp on county-owned property near the Durango Tech Center. The county was immediately met with pushback from residents of the Ella Vita and Crestview neighborhoods in west Durango who opposed the siting of the camp after dispersed camping that impacted the neighborhoods from 2015 to 2018.
The commissioners then directed Stevens and county staff members to search for properties the county could buy and turn into a managed camp. The county agreed to pay $1.7 million last month for the four parcels located on land immediately west of the Durango Dog Park along U.S. Highway 160, stretching from San Juan Hearth and Renewables to the park.
The parcels run continuously and have two buildings and two mobile homes on-site, though one of the mobile homes will likely be removed, Stevens said.
Councilors thanked the county for taking the lead on finding a suitable location and reiterated their willingness to work with the county to see that the site is transformed into a managed camp.
“I think this is a much better option than the Purple Cliffs option. It’s safer. It’s safer for Purple Cliffs’ current residents, and it’s also better for the community as far as fire risk,” said Councilor Melissa Youssef. “This as an option I would love to see us moving forward with and support.”
Many of City Council’s questions centered on the mechanics of implementing a managed camp at the site. However, Councilor Kim Baxter suggested the city consider extending the managed camp into the Durango Dog Park’s parking lot and moving the parking lot elsewhere to minimize the impacts on those using the park and living at the camp.
“If we can expand (the managed camp) into that, it makes it more of a closed system,” she said.
Baxter also asked the county to work with the city to create a task force that will address those who refuse to leave Purple Cliffs or are unwilling to move into a managed camp.
Both the city and the county managers, law enforcement and other stakeholders would make up the task force, which would aim to minimize the potential impacts of displacing some of those who live at Purple Cliffs.
During the meeting, Stevens assuaged concerns some community members have raised that the managed camp will have a visual impact on the western entrance to Durango.
“We know that U.S. Highway 160 is the gateway to Durango,” Stevens said. “I can’t speak for the board, but I am confident that the county will ensure that the doorway to Durango is befitting of the entrance we want.”
ahannon@durangoherald.com
