During its regular meeting held on Thursday, Feb. 25, the Archuleta County Planning Commission unanimously appointed Matt Nobles as chair and Mont McAllister as vice chair.
During the meeting, County Manager Longinos Gonzalez provided a brief update on the county’s community plan, during which he explained the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) approved requests for proposal (RFPs) for the update at its Feb. 3 regular meeting.
Gonzalez explained that “the only real changes” made by the BoCC in approving the RFP was to leave out a mandated “draft date” in hopes to avoid any extra charges for a tight deadline.
Gonzalez also mentioned that the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) indicated that as long as the county is making progress on the project, it could go into 2027 without being penalized.
An update to the community plan is being required by the state, through Senate Bill 24-174, which requires certain jurisdictions to complete local housing needs assessments, housing action plans that include affordability and displacement mitigation strategies, and new elements of comprehensive plans that incorporate water supply and strategic growth elements, according to the Colorado Department of Local Government’s website.
Gonzalez went on to mention the BoCC also adjusted the budget for the project, noting that the original request was to have $140,000 dedicated to the project, which would include a $70,000 from DOLA and a $70,000 contribution from the county.
“There’s a secondary grant opportunity,” Gonzalez said, explaining that would provide $50,000 in “incentive funds,” and the BoCC decided to apply half of that to the application process. “So, potentially this could be not a $70,000 matching on our side, but $57,000 instead, if that were to be approved.”
According to the county’s website, the community plan “provides a vision for the future development of Archuleta County, developed through extensive public input in 2001.”
The community plan was most recently updated in 2017, and can be viewed in its entirety online at www.archuletacounty.gov/county-government/development-services/planning-department/archuleta-county-community-plan.
“The update reformats the plan into an executive summary, three sections and an appendix; clarifies Goals, Policies and Action Items; and updates maps and statistics,” the website notes.
The county recently held an interactive community forum on Feb. 17, at which the community plan update was brought up, Gonzalez noted.
Another interactive community forum, being hosted by Commissioner John Ranson, is scheduled for 5 p.m. on March 25 at The Springs Resort at 323 Hot Springs Blvd.
Planning Commissioner Peter Beaudry commented that he was concerned that the RFP only requires one community meeting for the plan update.
“So I’m glad that we’re taking the initiative beforehand to have these community meetings,” Beaudry said.
clayton@pagosasun.com
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