Next week, a Texas-based planning and zoning company will visit La Plata County to survey the lay of the land and hold meetings with stakeholders to rewrite the county land-use code.
On Wednesday, representatives with Kendig Keast Collaborative will fly in to meet county planners for a driving tour that will cover parts of Ignacio, Vallecito, Redmesa and northern La Plata County.
“We will be looking for a couple of different things; the first is geographic differences of the area because our county is so large and has so many different zones,” said Jason Meininger, a county planner who is leading the code rewrite project.
“The second is associated with the physical conditions of the county. We have everything from arid desert to subalpine, and we want the consultants to understand those conditions and what types of uses generally occur in those different areas.
“As an example, there isn’t skiing in the southern part of the county, no agriculture in the north and no water in the west.
“When they begin on the land-use code, they’ll have physically experienced the county.”
After the tour, the firm will meet with five stakeholder groups Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
Groups include agricultural interests; planning district representatives; the business community; those who use the land-use code, such as developers and engineers; and community interest organizations, such as homeowners associations and advocacy groups.
Meetings for the general public have not been scheduled.
“We want to make sure the consultants understand what the issues are and have a good understanding of our existing comprehensive plan, district plans and land-use code, so when we have that broader meeting for the public, the consultants will be knowledgeable,” Meininger said.
The land-use code is a regulatory document governing where and how development and other land uses can occur within the county.
Its rewrite is an effort to bring the outdated regulations into the 21st century and accommodate a growing population and diversifying interests.
Kendig Keast Collaborative estimates the project, expected to be completed in 2018, will cost about $250,000.
jpace@durangoherald.com
On the net
As La Plata County rewrites its land-use code, the public will be able to view amendments to the land-use code and sign up to receive notifications every time changes are made on the county website,
www.lpccds.org/planning
.
