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WHY UPDATE THE REGULATIONS?
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It is no secret that the current land development regulations have not served our community well for many years. For businesses and individuals looking to invest in our community, they face a very unpredictable process which negatively impacts economic development investments in our region. For county residents and property owners, there is a lack of certainty in knowing what might happen to the land adjacent to and near them. The lack of clarity has resulted in a number of very contentious community conflicts dividing neighbors over county development decisions. The way we have done things in the past is no longer working for the betterment of the community. We need to come together as a community to create development policies that are fair, predictable, and based on our shared vision for the future.

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The 2018 Delta County Master Plan established that vision. The Master Plan is an outcome of a yearlong process that engaged the diverse residents of the county from across a wide spectrum of viewpoints in a dialogue about what we wanted for the future. The primary question the master plan process answered was: How do we create opportunities for everyone to thrive while protecting the things that make Delta County unique? While no plan can ever completely accomplish every residents’ individual goals, the master plan successfully found common ground in identifying a shared vision and goals for Delta County’s future. With the successful adoption of the Master Plan by the Planning Commission in May 2018, the community demonstrated the ability of the community members and local government to work together. To sustain this positive momentum, our next step is to update the County’s development regulations to be consistent with the goals and strategies identified in the Master Plan.  

WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF THE PROJECT?
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The County Commissioners are 100% committed to updating the land development regulations to achieve the following:

  • Ensure due process with a simple, clear, fair and predictable development process for property owners.

  • Provide clarity and assurances for residents and property owners about how land around them might develop.

  • Create consistency between the vision and goals in the Master Plan with the development regulations.

  • Support decision making that better responds to unique infrastructure and needs around the county rather than one size fits all.

  • Fosters more coordination between the county and municipalities on accomplishing shared goals.

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The process will result in revised land use development regulations adopted by the County Commissioners. The County has contracted with a consulting team led by RPI to support the Board of County Commissioners and Planning staff with the regulation update.

The update process includes three phases:

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  1. Learn: Building a strong foundation for informed decision making through shared learning.

  2. Explore: Understanding our current policies and conditions through data and trend analysis.

  3. Create: Creating a framework for future land development through revised regulations.

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This process will help us to identify what is working with our development regulations, what is not working, and what we want to change. Community members will have an opportunity to engage through a variety of participation methods so that our regulations best represent our County as a whole.

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WHO IS LEADING THE PROJECT? 

The County Commissioners are taking the primary leadership role in this project update.

  1. Don Suppes

  2. Mark Roeber

  3. Mike Lane

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The Planning Commission will be actively involved in education and outreach. The Planning Commission currently consists of the following members:

  1. Steve Shea -District 1

  2. Steve Schrock - District 1

  3. Dick Gilmore - District 1

  4. Layne Brones - District 2

  5. Tate Locke - District 2

  6. Jacob Gray - District 3

  7. Tom Kay - District 3

  8. Eli Wolcott - District 3

  9. Kate Darlington - District 3 Associate

 

The overall project management is being coordinated by Delta County staff:

  • Robbie LeValley, County Administrator

  • Kelly Yeager, Delta County Planner

  • Darnell Place-Wise, Public Information Officer

 

Delta County is being supported by RPI, a planning consulting firm based in Durango, Colorado.

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