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Bayfield officials expect new growth

Working on joint planning with county
The Mesa Meadows subdivision in Bayfield was platted in the mid 2000s. Lot sales and construction progressed from north to south. These now occupied homes are on the south end of the subdivision, with only a few lots still unbuilt.<br><br>Bayfield trustees want a say in development proposals they expect outside town limits and are discussing a joint planning document with La Plata County.

Subdivision activity was booming in Bayfield in the early and mid-2000s. That ended with the 2008 national real estate bust. Home construction revived slowly, and lots platted back then are mostly built out.

Interest in a joint town- county planning agreement has revived with the expectation of new subdivision proposals near Bayfield. Town trustees and planning commissioners discussed the situation in a special work session Tuesday evening.

"The discussion tonight is to start looking at land use planning that's likely to take place outside town boundaries," Town Manager Chris La May said. "We're starting to see an uptick in the number of building permits. I'm hearing that (homes) are selling within days of being on the market." And the number of unbuilt lots in town is dwindling.

So La May said he expects development proposals near town to start coming to the county. "We can take over land use authority via annexation with a willing property owner or start talking to the county commissioners about coordinated land use planning," he said.

He said County Manager Joe Kerby and County Planning Director Damian Peduto have approached him about this. "This is on their work list to reach an IGA (inter-governmental agreement) with Bayfield," La May said. "I've sat down with county planning staff. We identified what could be an urban growth service area," the area the town has identified for town water service. There would be joint planning in this area.

La May asked if trustees were okay with that boundary.

Mayor Rick Smith added, "What do we believe is the furthest we're willing to reach out that's in our best interest?" Echoing La May, he said, "You are very close to being out of places to build new homes. This is where people are coming to escape the high prices in Durango."

Town attorney Jeff Robbins suggested, "To identify your growth boundaries, you have to identify what should Bayfield look like in 20 or 40 years." The growth and land use maps being looked at "probably don't mirror your vision for growth," he said. "Do a gut check with the maps, especially the (town) planning commission. That should be part of this process. ... We can draft whatever we want for this document. You need to figure out the boundaries, but also the (land use) colors within those boundaries."

Smith noted, "Commercial has to be developed at the same time as residential, because that's the sales tax base. You have to strike that balance."

La May said that might be a reason to have a less expansive growth boundary, because "Development farther out would likely be residential." He also said, "Our main revenue source is sales tax. We want commerciaal development in town, to support residential growth."

Robbins noted a previous planning IGA draft had different tiers, with the town having the most say in tier 1, land adjacent to current town limits and eligible for annexation. "The IGA would deal especially with the next tier out," he said. Farther out, "The county is generally reluctant to impose stricter standards on properties that won't get the benefits of annexation," he said.

Trustees and the county commissioners will meet together on June 11, with the joint planning IGA a primary topic. Tuesday's meeting was preparation for that. La May said he hopes to have the IGA done by the end of the year.

"Let's get on this and do it," Trustee Ed Morlan said. "Sooner than the end of the year,"

Robbins reiterated, "There needs to be a thoughtful look at the current maps. You end up with a better end product if you start with comp plans that echo the vision of the town board and planning commission."

Public Works Director Ron Saba added that the town's water service boundaries were drawn up before the La Plata/ Archuleta Water District (LAPLAWD) was created, so they need to be discussed.

Morlan suggested the town should draft its own version of the IGA to use as a starting point with the county.

Smith commented, "He who possesses the pen has a little more control of the outcome. We control the pen at all times."

Robbins said, "You can tell me to draft something, but what are you trying to accomplish? The complexities are driven by what your vision is."

La May raised another issue. "Who's going to administer this? We aren't staffed like Durango or the county. We don't want this monster that we can't administer." The town had a planner in the mid 2000s, but he was not replaced after he retired because of health issues.

Smith said, "I think we're seeing a start of what happened the last time we boomed. (Development proposals) all came at once."

Access to central water and sewer is the main incentive for someone to annex land into the town. Trustees also discussed a pending decision on whether the town will provide water service in areas like Gem Village and the west end of Bayfield Parkway where LAPLAWD has or will run water mains.

"In our agreement (with LAPLAWD), we can buy capacity in their facilities," La May said. "We'd provide water to properties in our service area." This would involve customers signing implied consent agreements to annex when the property becomes eligible. The other option, La May said, is to let LAPLAWD provide service west of County Road 509. Customers would still have to sign implied consent annexation agreements for service from LAPLAWD, but Robbins raised questions of how enforcable that would be.

"If you want to keep control of annexation, you need to control the water," he said. Trustees agreed.