On Dec. 18, 2025, the Archuleta County Planning Commission had a discussion on a future land use regulation (LUR) change proposal.
Planning Manager Melissa Ryan explained that “we are going to be bringing something in January for proposed changes to land use regulations.”
Ryan mentioned that the Planning Department has had some requests in regard to temporary use permits for living in recreational vehicles (RVs) within the county.
“Right now, those are all issued under an expired resolution, where we’re allowing people to live temporarily on a rolling six-month basis in RVs,” she said, adding that it was never added to the LUR.
Ryan mentioned that it had been “continually updated in a resolution,” but that resolution expired some time ago and was never renewed.
“So, we need to do something about this,” she said, explaining that “we want to add this to our land use regulations” to allow for people to receive a temporary permit on the six-month rolling basis to continually be able to reside in an RV “as long as they need to.”
Ryan also stated that this has “obviously prevented some homelessness that we would otherwise be experiencing in our community.”
She went on to explain that the Planning Department also wants to add some language into the regulation for people who have proper septic and electrical systems in place for their RVs to provide a “less-invasive option” where, instead of checking and renewing a permit every six months, the county would only inspect and renew that kind of permit every five years.
Ryan indicated that a public notice would be published prior to bringing any official change in the language to the planning commission.
“We have been struggling a lot with our land use regulations,” Ryan said, explaining that some of the language can be rather confusing.
Historically, the department has leaned on the knowledge within the Planning Department on how to interpret all of the regulations, Ryan said, adding, “and we’ve lost all of that.”
“So, we’re starting from zero in starting to interpret our land use regulations and realizing some of it’s really confusing.”
Ryan explained that most of the changes are going to be asking for updates to the LUR to “make it simpler” and “easier to understand.”
She noted the changes are going to be intended to help the county comply and help make it easier for residents to understand the regulations and also comply with them.
“There are contradictions in there,” she stated, noting there are more than 10 different definitions for “housing.”
“There’s just a lot of stuff that we are having trouble with,” she added.
Ryan explained that a lot of changes will likely be requested after the community plan is updated.
She provided an example of parking being a requirement for a newly approved electrical substation, describing the requirement as being “a little much” in that it did not make sense to apply that requirement to that type of development.
County Manager Longinos Gonzalez explained that once the community plan is updated, the county will likely be looking at a “larger review of the land use code, whatever that might entail” with guidance from the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC).
“But, we saw some shortfalls that need to be addressed now,” he added, explaining the resolution that authorizes temporary use permits for living in RVs has expired and needs to be dealt with now, indicating that proposed change will be brought back in January.
“This will make things, I think, more efficient in the long-term,” he said, noting there is a cost to the county in having to go inspect a property every six months.
Open seat
The BoCC is seeking a volunteer to serve on the county’s planning commission.
According to the county’s website, the position is for a three-year term.
“Citizens interested in planning issues and how planning affects the community are encouraged to apply,” the website states.
Letters of interest and background information can be sent to the county commissioners’ office at P.O. Box 1507, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147. Applications can also be faxed to (970) 264-8306 or emailed to adminp@archuletacounty.gov.
clayton@pagosasun.com
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