La Plata county is in the process of fixing the Comprehensive Community Plan so that it better reflects the reality and values of our county. TODAY August 31st is the last day to provide input! This is a key step in the process and it is our opportunity to let the county know that we cyclists would like to see the county adopt a multi-modal transportation plan. Please send an email TODAY to Jason Meininger
[email protected]!!!
I updated this post on 8/16 with the attached emails from Jason and Jeannine. To read the document Jason refers to please use the provided link.
Spencer
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From: Jason Meininger (8/16)
Good Afternoon,
Before the weekend arrives, I wanted to extend my appreciation to all of you who attended one, two, three or all of the public meetings held around the community this week! Next Tuesday (Aug. 17th), we are heading back out to Ft. Lewis Mesa Elementary (5:30 – 7:30 PM) as well as the Florida Grange (5:00 – 7:00 PM) and we look forward to seeing you all there.
Please keep in mind the importance of providing your input and prioritization of the strategies before August 31st. The document is attached for your review. Comments will be taken any way you can get them in, i.e. email, snail mail, fax, etc. Additionally, you are welcome to drop them off at the Planning Department or bring them to one of the meetings next week. Also, please note August 30th on your calendars for the next Education Forum, Linking Land Use, Infrastructure and Fiscal Health. Join us at the Durango Recreation Center from 6:00 to 8:00 PM to learn more about how integrating land use, transportation, and infrastructure planning will be essential to achieving community goals.
Thanks again for your time and participation and I hope you all have a great weekend!
Link: http://www.laplatacountyplan.com/updates/Final-Strategies-Responsibility-matrix.pdf
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From Jeanine Justice:
Hello HLLP Partners & Stakeholders,
I have been on the working group to help create the plan since last July – it has been a long and arduous process to get to this phase, and the public needs to let the county know what strategies are the priority for county residents.
I was at the first public forum meeting last week and there was a disruptive, rude group in attendance that tried to derail the voting and discount what has been done to this point – I overheard a woman commenting that the plan was “a communist manifesto”. The county has worked very hard to include public input since the inception of the plan and most of the strategies in the plan are from the public forum that was held this past February.
I highly encourage you to attend one of the public forums coming up in the next two weeks – it’s important to let your voice be heard to make a healthier and more sustainable county for all residents! The dates and times of the forums are below. You can also provide feedback online at the link in Jason’s email.
Thank you to all for helping HLLP make our county a healthier community!
Jeanine Justice, Executive Director
Healthy Lifestyle La Plata
P.O. Box 1673
Durango, CO 81302
A LiveWell CO Community
970-749-5630
[email protected]
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From Jenny Wrenn:
Dear friends,
I feel this is so hugely important that it warrants a mass email.
La Plata County is now completing its comprehensive plan and looking for folks to come to one of the meetings and “vote” on which of the strategies you like best and to prioritize them. I think it’s been an incredibly open and progressive process so far. Maybe the last thing you want to do at the end of a long day is go to a public meeting. But we need YOU! The meetings thus far have been mostly attended by a well-organized, VERY vocal and adversarial group that is against most of what I hold dear and for the things that I most fear. For example, many are anti-bicycle (“government should only build roads, not bike paths and trails”), pro-development, pro oil/gas, gravel and other extractive industries, etc. They have often usurped the meetings and dominated the voting. In the last round of meetings, only 14% thought the county should have a comprehensive multi-modal transportation plan!
Now, it’s our turn. PLEASE come to one of the meetings and make YOUR voice heard, too. The Comprehensive Plan will guide all county government for the next decade. If you only go to one public meeting this year, please go to one of these. Please see the email below for locations, dates and times of a meeting near you.
If you simply can’t go, email your votes: please download the matrix (http://www.laplatacountyplan.com/updates/Final-Strategies-Responsibility-matrix.pdf ), indicate which of the strategies you like, and mail or email it back to Jason Meininger, County Long-Range Planner [email protected]
Thank you for protecting and preserving all that we love about this special place. Please forward this info to other like-minded friends and family.
Jenny Wrenn
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From: Jason Meininger
Good afternoon,
On behalf of the planning team, I would like to thank the more than 120 people who attended the Land Use and Transportation Strategies Prioritization Workshop last night. The meeting utilized key pad polling to quickly identify up to three priorities per comprehensive plan element that the County should focus on. We had a great turn out and good discussion (uh….not much discussion last night actually) about specific strategies and their application within La Plata County.
There were a several important take away messages from the meeting worth sharing:
1. By updating the Comprehensive Plan, we are attempting to fix the existing dysfunctional land use planning system. The first steps are to complete the Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use Plan (The Comprehensive Community Plan). Following adoption of the Comprehensive Community Plan, the County will update the Land Use & Development Code.
2. La Plata County is a very politically diverse community. It is the intent of the County to try and make every effort to develop common understanding of the community’s challenges and work towards a plan that represents the majority of the County’s residents. We have received both criticism and complements about the plan’s content and process. Our final meeting question asked “Based on what you know, do you think the county is moving in the right direction with the Comprehensive Plan so far?” There was a slight “in favor” margin, but it was small. The County intends to continue to try to bridge the community’s divergent values and opinions. We sincerely hope you will continue to work with us to find common ground.
3. This is a county wide plan intended to provide a consistent, fair, and thoughtful direction for development as our community grows. For each individual strategy, there is a range of possibilities for how and where they might be applied.
4. Most of the strategies were developed to apply to either the rural or the more urbanized parts of the counties, not as blanket policies. As this planning effort moves forward, community members throughout the County will work with their neighbors during the Future Land Use Planning phase to identify the most appropriate application of the strategies to their area.
When reviewing the meeting results, you will notice that the strategies were truncated to fit onto the projection screen. To read the entire strategy, please reference the strategy matrix.
http://www.laplatacountyplan.com/updates/Final-Strategies-Responsibility-matrix.pdf
Finally, we have added additional meetings to our schedule (flyer attached) for Aug. 9th – 17th. At these community meetings attendees will have an opportunity to discuss the draft comprehensive plan as well as prioritize land use and transportation strategies. Once the community meetings are completed, we will tabulate the summary of opinions and provide the final tabulation to you all.
Date Time Location
Mon. Aug. 9th 5:00—7:00 pm Ignacio Public Library
Tues. Aug. 10th 5:00 – 7:00 pm Vallecito Community Center
Wed. Aug. 11th 4:30 – 6:30 pm Bayfield Public Library
Thurs. Aug 12th 5:30 – 7:30 pm Ft. Lewis Mesa Elementary School
Tues. Aug. 17th 5:00—7:00 pm Florida Mesa Grange
Tues. Aug. 17th 5:30 –7:30 pm Ft. Lewis Mesa Elementary School
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Jason Meininger.
Thanks again,
Jason Meininger
[email protected]
970.382.6267
