On Thursday, July 28, 2011, the Cortez Journal published an article on community workshops led by the Montezuma County Planning Department and Planning Commission Board regarding a revised Master Zoning Plan for the County. This article was based on an editorial guest column by Gail Binkly published in the July 2011 edition of the Four Corners Free Press. I would like to clarify and expand on this article briefly.
The Planning Department and Planning Commission Board have been working on this zoning plan for over a year and are now conducting workshops throughout the County in an attempt to elicit public comments about the plan. The main focus of these workshops is to introduce the public to two concepts: 1) the creation of Commercial and Industrial Overlay zones, which will give preference to commercial and industrial activity in certain areas of the County, mainly on the major highways; and 2) completion of zoning in the County, in which unzoned property will be zoned according to historical use and property size.
The county has been divided into eight districts: Pleasant View, Cortez East, Cortez North, Mancos, Dolores, Summit, McElmo and Cortez South. Workshop meetings have been held in the Mancos, Dolores, Summit, Cortez North, Pleasant View and Cortez East districts.
The Cortez South workshop is scheduled for August 9, 2011, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Montezuma County Annex Building located at 107 North Chestnut, Cortez.
The McElmo workshop is scheduled for August 18, 2011, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Battle Rock School House located at 11351 Road G. You need not live in a district to attend any of these meetings; all residents are encouraged to attend one or more of these workshops.
The Planning Department staff and the Planning Commission board highly encourage public comment. We want to know the level of support and concern the residents of the County have about the plan before finalizing and presenting it to the Montezuma Board of County Commissioners in early October 2011.
For more information, please visit our website at http://www.co.montezuma.co.us/newsite/planninghome.html, talk directly to Planning Department staff at 109 W. Main, Rm. 305, Cortez, or call us at 970-565-2801. We also have an online survey where you may submit your views and suggestions electronically.
Editor’s note: The column, submitted by Montezuma County Planning Director Susan Carver and published on the opinion page on July 28, was not submitted to the Journal as a reprint from the Free Press. The Journal apologizes to the Free Press and to Gail Binkly for republishing it without communication or direct permission.