This email aims to spread awareness of the County’s Master Plan Update process underway and to give you a brief update on the litigation to appeal the County’s rezoning of Diamond Ridge.

Yesterday, a letter to the editor appeared in the Daily Planet spreading the word that the County appears to be fast-tracking a critically important update of its Master Plan during offseason when few are paying attention, or even available to participate. This update is hugely impacting to the region and will specifically affect the areas around Last Dollar Road as well as other open areas skirting Town. You can read the full letter here.

Several Focus Group meetings are coming up Nov. 7 – 14. The Advisory Group to what they’ve named the “East End Master Plan” will be weighing in on matters ranging from “Tourism, Recreation & Visitors,” to “Housing Considerations,” to “Environmental Stewardship”—issues that should be of concern to all of us, and all of these discussions may take place in the context of a proposed, much broader map of the Telluride region.

We encourage each of you to attend these meetings in person or via Zoom; find the link on the county webpage here:

  • Nov. 7 at 4 p.m.
  • Nov. 8 at 11 a.m. [this is the one specifically about housing considerations] and 2 p.m.
  • Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
  • Nov. 14 at 3:30 p.m.

Additionally, as part of the 106a process—the legal avenue to overturn the Board of County Commissioners’ decision to rezone Diamond Ridge—our group recently filed an opening brief. We have uploaded this brief to the members-only part of the site, so you can read it here. We’ll likely have a decision in about two months after the other side has a chance to respond and then we reply.

We don’t want to reveal the legal strategy publicly here, but if you have questions, feel free to call Morgan Smith at 970-728-5814 to discuss it with him.

This advocacy and litigation take time and funds. In addition to hiring a legal team to pursue this appeal of the County’s action, we have hired experts to conduct a thorough and objective study on traffic impacts, since that is a common thread to the entire region. We also have other studies (water, sewer) performed or in the works. Donations are needed and greatly appreciated; you can donate here.

And in case you missed it, here are a few of the strong letters to the editor that ran over summer:

Thank you for reading.