As the town of Dolores overhauls its comprehensive plan, it released one component of the yearlong process.
Residents may now visit imaginedolores.com. The website is dedicated to the Dolores Comprehensive Plan update, outlining its purpose, participation, important updates and the three main phases toward a written product.
Town Manager Leigh Reeves said the website’s main goal is to give residents a place to share feedback on what should be included in the new plan.
“You can go there and make comments. ‘This is my favorite place. Like my favorite park is Riverside Park,’” Reeves said.
Preparing and writing the plan is expected to take a year. The town hopes to gather as much public input as possible, with the outreach phase likely lasting into fall.
This would update the town’s 1997 comprehensive plan, a long-term document outlining future priorities and development needs.
In 1997, the town’s population was about 860 people living in around 417 households, roughly 100 fewer than officials estimate today.
The comprehensive plan is not policy or code enforcement. Instead, it asks the overarching vision question: How do we want Dolores to grow and change over the next 20 years? Topics include housing, economic development, transportation and parks and recreation.
The plan is also needed, Reeves said, to qualify for state grants through the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. The Montezuma County Fairgrounds is pursuing a similar master plan for the same purpose. Fairgrounds Manager Justin McGuire told the Southwestern Colorado Livestock Association that he hopes to develop a plan through a university-based program but said the project depends on whether the county commission agrees to fund it, at an estimated cost of about $46,000.
“Anytime we try to look at grants or anytime we try to go for funding as far as improvements for the fairgrounds, that's usually our first question: Where's your master plan,” McGuire told the association at Saturday’s annual meeting.
Dolores secured a $50,000 matching grant to support the public outreach process, with $25,000 from DOLA and $25,000 from the town’s budget.
Once drafted, the comprehensive plan will be presented for public hearings before potential adoption by the town board. The final product will likely be a searchable PDF posted to the town’s website.
Reeves said the town is in the early stages of work, with consultant Logan Simpson recently conducting one-on-one interviews with about 18 residents selected by the Planning and Zoning Commission. She said the group reflected a range of ages, backgrounds and business interests.
Reeves noted recently finished and planned park improvements that tie into the broader recreational goals in the plan. Those include the Fishing Is Fun river access improvements, future trail building and the hope for an ADA-accessible concrete path through Joe Rowell Park.
She added that Dolores faces limitations for growth because of water and infrastructure constraints, meaning future development may need to focus on increased density.
The town is also partnering with Jordan Lang and Darby Dettloff to build affordable housing units on a space west of Kelly’s Kitchen. It would be a pilot program, the first in the state, with assistance from DOLA and the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. This project, still in the early stages, does not require the town to spend any money.
The town instead acts as a fiscal manager and disburses grant funds for the developers. Lang and Dettloff requested the town write a letter of interest for the project, and the board agreed in November.
awatson@the-journal.com
