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Updated: November 11, 2022 @ 6:03 am
The proposed timeline for the East End Master Plan process, which San Miguel County kicked off over the past week with advisory and focus group meeting. (Courtesy image)
The proposed timeline for the East End Master Plan process, which San Miguel County kicked off over the past week with advisory and focus group meeting. (Courtesy image)
San Miguel County has begun the East End Master Plan update process, which kicked off with an introductory advisory meeting Thursday, followed by several focus group discussions this week — all of which were and are open to the public.
“We’re really happy to begin the East End Master Plan update. This will replace the Telluride Regional Area Master Plan, which was adopted in 1989. A lot has happened since then. Things that weren’t even an idea in planning back then have become much more important, like sustainability and resiliency. As a community, we’ve grown so much since then. There has been so much change. We’ve had Lawson Hill, the airport, incorporation of Mountain Village, and that just gets us through the ’90s,” county planning director Kaye Simonson said Thursday. “So with that, welcome, the purpose of the advisory group is to help us along in the process. We’re going to be working to get a lot of information about all the focus group meetings coming up (throughout the week), and you’re all welcome to attend those. And then we’ve got the next phase will be going out more to the public and, presenting them information that we know, and starting to get ideas and input from the public. And then the third and final phase is where an actual draft plan is presented, and we once more gather input before ultimately hopefully, adopting the plan. It is the planning commission’s duty to prepare and adopt plans, so you’ll have very heavy involvement from the planning commission throughout. And we’re also hoping that as we move forward through engagement that we’re reaching out to the entire community. If along the way you notice that we’re not reaching somebody or there’s some information we don’t seem to be getting, please let us know. And we’ll figure out how to bring them in.”
The county is working with Design Workshop, a national design studio and consultant with offices in Denver and Aspen that has worked with the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village before.
“In that amount of time, there’s been a lot of population changes, housing challenges, transportation needs and industry shifts, so a master plan is a good opportunity to check in on those, gather baseline data, talk with the community about what the vision is for the future and then create supportive goals and recommendations from there,” Design Workshop Project Manager Callie New said during the initial master plan meeting.
Monday’s first focus group meeting covered “Tourism, Recreation, Visitors,” while Tuesday’s included “Housing Considerations” and “Environmental Stewardship & Priorities.” On Wednesday, “Mobility & Transportation” and “Equity, Inclusion & Livability” will be discussed at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively. Then on Monday, Nov. 14, at 3:30 p.m., all the topics will be considered. Meeting information, including Zoom links and passcodes, can be found on the county’s master plan website at sanmiguelcountyco.gov/eastendmasterplan. Comments can also be emailed to [email protected].
Simonson again spoke about the master plan during Monday’s intergovernmental meeting and stressed that the beginning of such a process includes a lot of information gathering. Other than the recent focus groups, the county plans to host “community pop-up” events sometime in December to help spread the word and gather public feedback.
“We are open to suggestions on times and locations, but it’ll be sometime in December for that. And then we’ll be moving into January with actual community outreach events where we’ll be presenting a lot of the information that we’re gathering now, so that people can make informed comments to us and give us informed feedback. That will be coming out in the early part of the year,” she said. “And then our goal is to hopefully have a draft that we can present to the community by May, and hopefully then adopt in the summer.”
San Miguel County Commissioner Kris Holstrom is part of the advisory group and commented on the initial meeting, while asking for input from Telluride and Mountain Village officials who have gone through similar processes recently as well.
“In a nutshell, there was a good initial meeting. We got some really great suggestions on general education about the master planning process, as well as ways to move forward. So again, there’s the website, there’s the email address, please do reach out and make sure that your input is heard,” she said.
Mountain Village Town Manager Paul Wisor, Mountain Village Mayor Laila Benitez and Telluride Council member Geneva Shaunette all stressed the importance of community outreach and making sure residents are aware of what’s happening and why, including when meetings are scheduled.
The master plan area has expanded since 1989, according to the current map that has been shared thus far, to include the Ophir, Ames, San Bernardo and Trout Lake areas. The boundary also now ends at the eastern county line. Residents questioned the increase in the area during recent meetings. Design Workshop Principal-in-Charge Jessica Garrow explained that the current map is only a draft during Monday’s focus group.
“This map on the screen illustrates the initial boundary of the planning area. This is going to be refined through the community engagement process. It has been created following extensive conversation with the planning commission about what areas this plan needs to cover to adequately address topics like growth, land conservation, housing, transportation and the environment, just to name a few,” she said. “It is larger than the 1989 Telluride regional area master plan, and that’s really to reflect some of the changes that have happened in the county since that time. But again, it is a draft planning area at this point and will be refined through the community engagement. In terms of what is different, it does cover more areas to the south, like Ophir, Ames and Trout Lake, and it goes all the way to the county boundary in the east.”
Upwards of 50 people attended the initial meetings, either in-person or virtually. On Monday, Garrow again reiterated the notion behind the master plan process.
“It’s been over 30 years since the county last had a community-wide conversation about the vision and goals for the region. Since the last plan was adopted, many of its recommendations have been implemented, such as development of the gondola, the airport expansion, as well as several housing developments. That plan was really visionary, and a lot of things have happened to implement it, which is a great testament to the San Miguel County area,” she said. “It’s really time to think about what’s next, what’s happening. Also, since that time, the region has experienced some growth and changes to things like population, housing, transportation and the economy. This master plan is really an opportunity to check in with the community about the current state and to develop strategies together to plan for the future.”
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