Dear Action Line: Alert! An eyesore has developed on our San Juan Skyway. It appears to be swelling, oozing wealth and privilege, obscuring mountain views along U.S. Highway 550. I’m concerned this blot on the landscape is contagious, will contaminate the rest of what Fodor’s calls “one of the country’s most stupendously scenic drives.” It’s an ever-expanding cluster of buildings, large and very large, located just north of the Glacier Club perched on a cliff top. The location alone begs many questions like, “how are they getting water?” Is the site zoned “high income housing” because it’s located on the “Million Dollar Highway”? Does it have a helipad for transporting billionaires to and from their other mansion? Workforce housing provided? What goes there? – Stye-Eyed in Durango

Dear Stye-Eyed: Action Line refuses to touch this question. Too many pitfalls and roadside bombs. If Action Line were to answer this question, here’s what would happen:

Research would reveal that these large homes, part of the Glacier Club subdivision, are almost all second homes. La Plata County real estate records would show that many parcels at Glacier are owned by people with addresses in places such as Texas, Oklahoma, California, Illinois and Florida. These records would show many home values of $1 million to $3 million, and home sizes between 2,000 and 4,000 square feet.

More rooting around would reveal that real estate agents are attempting to sell Durango as “the Southwest’s Best-Kept Secret.” One quote from a licensed real estate agent in Colorado and Texas: “As a transplant from Dallas to Durango, I can see such enormous untapped potential here for second homes. ... Durango could be the most affordable alternative to Aspen, and the market is just starting to get hot.”

Action Line would discover that there’s a property along County Road 124 near Hesperus – actually closer to Mayday – featuring a 12,000-square-foot home (that’s just the “main house”) that’s on the market for $29.5 million.

So, do we really want to go through all this? All this information would simply make the average reader horrified, knowing that the last thing most of us want is to be another Aspen with $30 million homes all over the place. Most of us struggling to feed families and keep roofs over our heads understand how much of an impact rising real estate prices have on our lives, how hard it is for the average working person to afford to live here, and how this affects the cost of living, businesses trying to find workers, and the additional cost of providing infrastructure for newcomers who don’t always add much to the community.

Writing all of those thoughts would in turn anger the wealthy recent newcomers who love the beauty of the area, and a subset of those newcomers who really are adding to the community by sponsoring local events and nonprofits, volunteering and serving on various nonprofit boards.

So Action Line would then have to take a step back, breathe in that mostly clean and crisp mountain air that surrounds us, and realize that this is not a black-and-white issue. Some actual reporting would need to be done to tell the other side.

First off, there is no county zoning. Upon inquiry, county planners would tell Action Line that Glacier Club/Tamarron has a master plan in place – long-standing development agreements and more recent building permits for single-family lots, condos and more. Planners would insist there is nothing fishy, hinky or back-roomed here, just a bunch of well-to-do folk doing what they do.

Much of the area north of Glacier Club, in the North County Planning District, is classified as “large lot residential,” with some “suburban density residential” mixed in the advisory district plan, Action Line would learn. That means more big homes will be built along the Skyway in La Plata County. It would come to light that those desperately seeking to build exceedingly large homes can rest assured: There is no maximum home size regulation in the land-use code.

Action Line would then feel compelled to try to contact someone at Glacier Club and give them a chance to respond. Glacier’s chief operating officer, Jim Goodman, would then take the time to email multiple points. Such as:

Yes, Glacier is staying in “strict compliance” with its agreements with the county and architectural design guidelines, and has always worked collaboratively with county planners and commissioners. Glacier is one of the county’s largest employers. It is working to create affordable housing to ease staffing shortages seen by many North County employers. Action Line would add that not all Glacier Club residences are multimillion-dollar homes.

Goodman would check off a few environmental items, such as Glacier using solar for 90% of the clubhouse’s electrical needs, reclaiming all of its treated effluent to reapply onsite, and composting all restaurant food scraps with Table to Farm Compost. And, germane to this question, he would say that landscaping around the new homes in question will “soften the appearances of the residences.”

So, by this time, if Action Line were to write this column, everybody would be livid at the author, who is simply researching a question and attempting to tell it like it is. Pretty much everyone who perused this item would have their day ruined in some way. And Action Line would be blamed, and have to face the aftermath – the wrath of longtime residents whose lives are being negatively impacted, and the anger from newcomers who believe there’s no reason to deny them access to this piece of “undiscovered” paradise. After all, we were all newcomers once, even though some of you were born here and are only newcomers from a longer-term perspective.

Therefore, Action Line respectfully refuses to touch this question, and by now it must be apparent why that is the case. Too much work, and too many booby traps.

Apologies for completely dismissing this question, and thanks for your understanding.

If you have other subjects you do or don’t want written about, email questions and suggestions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301.