The Town and County jointly and individually took two big steps recently toward developing Diamond Ridge for a large scale, high-density housing project.

Firstly, on November 7, the County issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to hire a consultant, who will prepare a development plan for the rezoned 39 acres. Their timeline calls for hiring a development team by mid-January and having a draft plan for development by September 2023. The RFP can be read here https://www.sanmiguelcountyco.gov/bids.aspx?bidID=90, and this webpage also links to background documents such as the Diamond Ridge Rezoning Application. Clearly, the County and Town continue to fast-track the development with numerous unknowns about the impacts and costs.

Secondly, on November 15, the Telluride Town Council approved an amendment to the Comprehensive Settlement Agreement Regarding The Bridal Veil Water system—a 2013 document that establishes the relationship structures between the Town of Telluride and Idarado Mining Company, the “holder” of rights to water the Town uses to service its region.  Specifically, the boundary that defines the water service area was expanded, and even more specifically it was expanded to include Diamond Ridge PLUS Diamond Ranch. The discussion of Diamond Ranch is a topic for another day, but to see the approved amendment, click here: https://telluride-co.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/161910/?preview=162025

Meanwhile, San Miguel County used one week during off season to hold several public forums for its East End Master Plan Update. We encourage you to review https://www.sanmiguelcountyco.gov/731/East-End-Master-Plan for information about it, along with the PDFs linked there that summarize the forums’ discussions.

County staff’s redrawing and expansion of the Master Plan’s regional map has sparked concern that the County is laying the groundwork to target property currently zoned as low density or Forestry/Agriculture for higher development. Some speakers at the forums also expressed concern that the County has not adequately studied and addressed the big question, “What is the region’s carrying capacity?” to understand the impact of population growth on the region’s water, traffic, schools, and quality of life before mapping out where growth should occur.

Planning Commissioner Tobin Brown, who serves on the Advisory Group for the Master Plan process, summed up this overriding concern when he stated at the meeting last Monday: “My question as we go through this process is, how can we not end up like every other resort in the Rocky Mountains that is oversubscribed, that has traffic jams and employee housing issues, and all those issues that we’ve been watching for decades? How do we avoid that trap? … If you look at what’s on the books right now at Society Turn and Mountain Village and all the building permits that have been pulled in the last few years, even if we stopped right now and didn’t build anything else, there are people already thinking, ‘It ain’t what it used to be,’ and that we blew it somehow. That’s something that’s going to be in the back of our minds going forward for the next several months here.”

We applaud and thank Pam Aldasoro Bennett for volunteering her time to serve on the Master Plan Advisory Group. Here is an excerpt of Pam’s concluding remarks at the final focus group meeting:

 “I am concerned as to how this process is unfolding.  We need to update the San Miguel County Comprehensive Development Plan, which is also from 1978!  The Comprehensive Development Plan, or Comp Plan as it is referred to, has the ultimate objective of creating a general guideline to be used in making decisions about the physical development of the community.

“We have five sub-communities with Master Plans and Land Use Plans [identified in the county’s Comp Plan]; they are the 1. San Miguel Canyon Area, 2. the Wright’s Mesa Area, 3. Telluride Regional Area, 4. Telluride/Ophir High Country Area, and 5. Remainder of the County, so all the land within San Miguel County has some form of a Land Use Plan.  Does the County have a schedule of when all the Master Plans within San Miguel County will be reviewed and updated? …

“I believe expanding and changing the name [to the East End Master Plan] may have many unknown and unintended consequences. … Why is the Telluride regional boundary expanding to include all of Deep Creek Mesa?  All that property has been designated in the Remainder Area of San Miguel County, Section 5, which is a sub-community.  Some key goals of that sub-community are the preservation of prime agricultural lands by locating new development on non-productive lands; the development of water resources that will not radically alter the natural environment; and preservation of the summer grazing necessary for ranching. It seems that more development in this area is contradictory to the Comprehensive Plan. …

“It’s unfair to the San Miguel County residents, environmental resources, rural lifestyle, recreational amenities, cultural uniqueness, historic preservation, infrastructure plan, wildlife, and many other stakeholders to not take this opportunity to do this project correctly. The correct way to proceed is to update the San Miguel County Comprehensive Master Plan, then update the sub-communities to be in support of the Comprehensive Master Plan.”

***

What can you do to help San Miguel County grow in a sustainable, sensible way while also addressing the region’s housing needs?

  • Stay informed by visiting the webpages linked above and sign up to receive email notices of the BOCC, Planning Commission, and Town Council agendas.

  • Write letters to the editor.

  • Learn about potential housing options, advocate for incentives for more long-term rentals, and push for new housing development closer to existing infrastructure and services to preserve open spaces and viewsheds.

  • Ask regional leaders for comprehensive studies of water, wastewater, and traffic impacts of large-scale development.

  • And, please consider supporting the Last Dollar Collective with a donation to help fund studies and legal fees.

Many thanks to donors who responded to the last newsletter’s appeal. You may give through this link for convenience; however, the credit card and third-party Stripe fee take away 6% of the donated amount. If you would like to donate a large amount, please consider giving by check to avoid that fee and mail to PO Box 1744, Telluride 81435; or contact info@lastdollarcollective.com if you would like to hand deliver it to one of the group’s core members.