DURANGO, Colo.—This southwestern tourist destination is working on cracking down on hillside development opponents say detract from its beauty.
“It’s responsive government at its finest,” said new elected Councilor Michael Rendon. “The things that we ran on – open space preservation, hillside construction, planned growth and affordable housing – we got right on those things, and with a lot of help from staff, we’re now seeing some results. This (hillside ordinance) is a perfect example of that.”
Planners, under orders from the new City Council, developed an interim ordinance Sept. 6 to protect hillsides.
Senior Planner Vicki Vandegrift told the Durango Herald some changes will be made but the spirit of the rules will be intact when the council votes on it.
The hillside ordinance was the first goal of three newly elected council members, Rendon, Scott Graham and Leigh Meigs.
The changes are meeting some resistance because hillside homes are popular and draw high prices.
Elizabeth Salkind, executive director of the Homebuilders’ Association of Southwest Colorado, said while architects and engineers from her organization were asked to consult on ridgeline development guidelines with county planners, no one was approached about hillside rules.
Her group is reviewing the hillside ordinance and is concerned that measures are being passed too quickly.
“The process has really changed in terms of how quickly things are coming to pass, so it really is a disadvantage for those of us who want to participate in the process,” Salkind said. “We’re kind of under the gun with it because we tried to be involved with it in the early stages, but we really weren’t. It might be something we support, but we don’t know, and we’re doing our best to give some good input prior to it getting too far down the line,” she said.
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Information from: The Durango Herald,
