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Town council tables consideration of metro districts

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On Jan. 21, the Pagosa Springs Town Council decided to table consideration of whether or not to allow metropolitan districts to form within town limits.

Metro districts are special-purpose districts allowed in the state under the Colorado Special District Act. 

Metro districts are described in an agenda document as quasi-municipal governments and political subdivisions of the state, with their own elections and board of directors. 

Metro districts are usually formed to fund specific infrastructure needs within a district’s boundaries, such as road maintenance, wastewater services, or maintaining parks and recreation facilities, and are usually funded through property taxes from the owners within that district. 

At the meeting, council member Leonard Martinez suggested that he thought the town should not even be considering the issue of allowing metro districts until it develops a “strategic plan” around the issue of growth and development. 

He noted that it felt “premature” and like the “tail was wagging the dog.” 

The town should not “put this tool in place until there’s a developed strategic goal in place to guide it,” he said. 

Mayor Shari Pierce said that, after listening to a detailed presentation on metro districts by Town Attorney Bob Cole, she had “tons of notes” on things that concerned her about metro districts within town limits, and she urged the council not to “rush it.”

Council member Brooks Lindner said that, after Cole’s presentation, he was having a hard time understanding how metro districts would benefit the town. 

Replying to Lindner, council member Madeline Bergon suggested that “the win” for the town would be kick-starting development, if that’s what the town ultimately wants. 

Agreeing with Martinez, Lindner commented that there’s “no way we can answer” that right now without a strategic goal in place. 

Development Director James Dickhoff chimed in to list some of the other potential benefits to the town of allowing metro districts, including secondary road connectivity and expanding the housing supply, but he also expressed agreement with Martinez, adding that “strategic planning would be wise” before any decision is made on the issue. 

The idea of allowing metro districts within town boundaries was first presented by Dickhoff at a Dec. 19, 2024, meeting, but he explained that he wanted to bring Cole, an expert on the issue, into the conversation at the Jan. 21 meeting. 

Currently, the town has no metro districts within its boundaries, but Archuleta County has several within its boundaries, Dickhoff told the council, adding that, in the future, the town should decide if it wants to allow or prohibit metro districts within its boundaries. 

Dickhoff pointed to a few examples of metro districts within the county, saying that Alpha Rock Ridge operates as one, “mainly for maintaining roads,” and that Aspen Springs and Timber Ridge are other examples of metro districts. 

He noted that metro districts “are becoming more and more common,” and can serve as an “essential tool” to serve growth that town resources can’t provide.

At the January meeting, Cole said that one of the “high points” of allowing metro districts is that they can serve as a “tool to advance development and create infrastructure.”

But Cole also told the council that metro districts should not be allowed haphazardly and, if the town decides it wants to allow them, it should develop clear policies to “reduce the risks.” 

He noted that, together with Dickhoff, he could help the town develop a policy that would allow the town some control over how metro districts operate within the town’s boundaries. 

Agreeing with the idea of developing a strategic plan on what type of development the town wishes to see, Cole suggested that the council should first decide on what purpose it wants metro districts to serve, and that answering that question would help shape any policy that would put limitations and regulations on a metro district.

Bergon stated that she was not ready to make any decisions on the matter, but that the council shouldn’t “write off” the idea of allowing metro districts, adding that they could end up being beneficial to the council’s goals. 

Dickhoff also revealed at the meeting that the issue had come up due to a single developer who had come to the town with the idea of using this “tool” to spur development. 

He said that if metro districts were approved by the council, more developers would follow suit with the one inquiring about metro districts. 

Ultimately, the council was on the same page that it was not yet ready to even consider the idea of allowing metro districts within town limits until it first develops a strategic goal on development and growth and then learns more about the pros and cons of metro districts.

Martinez said that making any decision now on metro districts “would be a signal that we do not have strategic discipline nor do we understand the value of strategy.” 

The council decided to push the issue down the road for future consideration.

derek@pagosasun.com