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La Plata County opens new series of land-use workshops

Residents can learn what is in the new code, provide feedback
La Plata County planning officials have started a series of workshops to introduce residents to the layout of the new land-use code for the first time and to get feedback from the public.

La Plata County residents, get ready – another series of land-use code workshops is gearing up.

County staff members will be hosting a series of workshops to present the land-use code’s draft table of contents and get feedback from community members. The land-use code revision process has taken years and sparked intense public debates, but the process is steadily approaching completion.

Because the table of contents forms the backbone of the new code, residents will be able to understand more about what will be included in the large document.

“Our current code doesn’t have a table of contents, so this is new,” said Megan Graham, spokeswoman for La Plata County government. “Just trying to start the conversation is the impact of these workshops.”

At the workshops, residents will be able to voice concerns and ask questions about the land-use code. For example, one popular topic at the Florida Mesa meeting could be the “agriculture plus” concept, which includes some uses by right on agricultural land that the county will add, Graham said.

The county met with Florida Mesa residents Tuesday evening at the Faith Community Church of the Nazarene.

The county has also already had a workshop with residents from the Animas Valley, North County and Junction Creek on Feb. 18. There, residents mainly wanted to make sure the current Animas Valley land-use plan is going to stay the same, which it is, Graham said.

Upcoming sessions will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in several locations across the county.

March 4: Bayfield/Southeast meets at the Oxford Grange Hall, 8016 Highway 172, Ignacio.March 5: Fort Lewis Mesa/West Durango meets at the Breen Community Building, 15300 La Plata Highway (Colorado Highway 140), Hesperus.March 10: Vallecito/Florida Road meets at the Vallecito Community Event Center, 17252 County Road 501, Bayfield.Interested community members who cannot attend the workshops can comment on the table of contents through a portal on the county’s planning website, which opened Friday.

“This is really to build people’s awareness and to get folks ready for what’s going to be a large document when it comes out,” Graham said.

smullane@durangoherald.com

An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect date for the Bayfield/Southeast workshop. It will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 4.

May 11, 2020
Four years in the making, La Plata County releases draft land-use code


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