In December 2019, Montezuma County residents filled the Board of County Commissioners’ office at capacity to voice opposition to extending Cortez’s zoning into “influence” zones in the county.

Now, four years later, a group of Montezuma County residents have raised concerns in recent commission meetings that high-density housing could be built in the county’s mile of influence and extend to 3 miles in unincorporated parts of the county.

In response, Commissioner James Candelaria explained in an interview with The Journal that county residents voted on what should be in the land use code. The anonymous members of the group, who go by the name Save Montezuma County, want to alter how things are done and are concerned about changes to their lifestyle, homes and community.

Save Montezuma County worries that the housing would be built on farmlands, spoiling the agricultural character that they want to preserve. They said that more than 60 parcels of agricultural land are in the 3-mile influence zone.

The nonpolitical grassroots group, which consists of Montezuma County residents, many of them generational, is concerned about changes in the area of influence and how commissioners handle the county’s growth and planning.

Candelaria sought to assure members of the group that constitutionally, no changes to the land use code may occur without a public vote.

The influence falls on private landowners within 3 miles of the radius. The county isn’t forcing housing on public lands within the influence, but private landowners may develop their land as long as they abide by the code.

Section 1201 of the code states that the county was to preserve the agricultural character of the land.

“One of the major objectives of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan is to protect the rural character of the County through the enactment of development regulations appropriate for rural areas,” it states.

The group said that many of the current problems stem from Planned Unit Developments that can be divided on privately owned land in unincorporated Montezuma County.

Save Montezuma County also opposes workforce and temporary housing such as apartments, condos, townhomes and tiny houses in the 1- to 3-mile radius.

Candelaria said that the solution for the crisis, which exists across the United States, is to make housing affordable in areas where there’s density. If people who experience the crisis live in more dense areas, resources are more likely to be accessible.

In a workshop meeting on May 1, County Planner Don Haley said he was figuring out how to get workforce housing in the 1-mile zone of influence. A Save Montezuma County representative, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that Candelaria tried pushing the workforce housing into a 3-mile zone of influence, thus reaching more into the agricultural zone, a claim that the commissioner denied.

The group says that temporary and workforce housing moved outward from Cortez, rural areas will shrink, and the population growth would bring crime, traffic and noise.

“I can’t make a decision based on emotion,” Candelaria said. “Bring us facts.”

“We like the open rural character and high-density apartments and small-lot PUDs do not fit the rural County,” a Save Montezuma County member said in an email, who wished to remain anonymous. “Cortez has about 500 acres of vacant land and hundreds of vacant lots, which is enough for decades of growth. This is where the infrastructure and high-density small-lot housing developments already exist and where they belong.”

Haley said that by state statute there is a 1-mile zone of influence around each municipality and a 3-mile zone for a master streets plan. This means that any new county development preserves the main roads and utilities in and out of the municipalities.

In response to a question from the group, Candelaria suggested that developers could preserve the area’s rural character and increase housing by building closer to the infrastructure.

“If you can keep the density as close as you can in the 1- to 3-mile zones of influence and you don’t destroy the bigger acres, you’re in,” Candelaria said in a board meeting on May 1. “If you’re outside, then it sprawls.”

Although Candelaria said the commissioners want to keep densities close to the city, the land use code includes a 3-mile influence into unincorporated, privately owned parts of the county. If private landowners want to divide their land into separate lots, sometimes into half acres, the Board of County Commissioners questions whether the proposals comply with the code.

The land use code designates 3-acre minimums for development. Half-acre lots fall outside the code because they pertain to accessory dwelling units.

According to Cortez’s Land Use Code and Housing Policy Update, ADUs come in a wide variety – detached or attached to the house, a converted interior of a basement, garage or upper-floor apartment. Requirements for ADUs include that the property owner must live on the property and that the lot is 20% larger than the required minimum size.

“Our LUC requires a three-acre minimum to subdivide, but it does allow for each parcel to contain two residencies with the Accessory Residence having to be less than 2,000 square feet,” Haley said in an email.

LUC’s Section 3106.5 says:

Following, the chart below explains what the site, lot and building standards are, including 3-acre minimum lot sizes and a maximum building height of 35 feet. The building footprint should not exceed 12% of the lot size as well, but this does not apply to commercial or industrial zoned parcels adjacent to a state or federal highway.

The group also made note that the 1-mile influence is specific with Urban Influence Restrictions (LUC Section 2102) and not necessarily with the Montezuma County unincorporated. That being said, the land use code says that it applies to all unincorporated areas of Montezuma County.

The group also commented that the priority of the commissioners should be to protect residents from adverse impacts and lower property values.

In response, Commissioner Candelaria said that adverse impacts are more so environmental factors, such as toxins that leach into the ground. He also mentioned that if vehicles cause dust to rise, that problem can be mitigated and isn’t necessarily an adverse impact.

While this has been an ongoing issue lately, the Board of County Commissioners mentioned when meeting Sept. 12 that they should meet to discuss possible changes to the land use code.