The Cortez City Council approved first readings for both a land transfer to the county and the updated land use code.
The land transfer involves a small parcel of land along Seventh Street that will allow the county to move forward with a road extension between Sligo Street and County Road 27. The land use code update has been in the works for months, and is expected to be implemented in March 2020.
“It’s been said before, but we anticipate changes will be made as we move forward,” said City Planner Tracie Hughes at the Tuesday night meeting. “The document is not static, so it can be changed as we learn more about our community and about what’s the desired vision and what’s working and what’s not.”
Both items will come back to the council for a second reading and public hearing Oct. 8.
County commissioners have wanted to extend Seventh Street from Sligo Street to County Road 27, as a way to alleviate Main Street traffic and create an additional route to the high school. The extension is about half a mile long, with about half of the land for the road extension on city property and half on county property.
The city’s portion runs along the south side of the high school.
Initially, the county was looking to collaborate with the city on the project, with each entity building its respective road portion. But Cortez is in the midst of funding shortfalls, and city councilors expressed in a previous meeting that it was not the best time to tack on the road extension project.
The county wanted to begin the project, though. At a previous joint meeting, County Administrator Shak Powers presented the possibility of the city de-annexing the land to Montezuma County and allowing the county to build the whole segment.
A few weeks ago, the City Council decided to pursue de-annexation. Tuesday night was the first of two readings before the transfer ordinance can officially be approved.
“It will remain inside the city limits but it will be a county road,” City Attorney Mike Green said.
He added there is a reverter clause in the ordinance, stating that the right of way will go back to the city if the county doesn’t build the road within five years.
The land use code update was approved on first reading– with some proposed changes – by the Cortez Planning and Zoning Commission on Sept. 3.
The nearly 500-page document includes new standards for landscaping, building aesthetics, and zoning. It’s expected to take effect in March 2020.
At the Sept. 3 Planning and Zoning meeting, some residents expressed concerns, leading the Planning and Zoning commissioners to recommend a few changes, including:
An adjoining lot consolidation requirement be adjusted.A reduction in minimal landscaping requirements in Industrial Park. A directive that staff look into permits for sidewalk signs.This Tuesday, Green included an additional change to the code, proposing to use a higher fine rather than jail time as a penalty for land use code violations.
“We’re starting to see that perhaps jail isn’t appropriate as a penalty for a violation of some of the codes, like the building code or the land use code,” he said. “So we’ve changed over to a higher monetary standard.”
The vote on this first reading was 4-3, with Councilors Orly Lucero, Sue Betts, and Gary Noyes dissenting.
The council unanimously approved a contract with Visionary Broadband to provide Wi-Fi service to the Cortez Municipal Airport.Airport Manager Russ Machen said this would replace the current AT&T “hotspot” service at the airport, improving service and saving about $600 a year.
Councilors unanimously approved two plat amendments.The council unanimously approved a $9,000 Charge Ahead Colorado grant from the state that can be used to install an electric vehicle charging station at the Cortez Welcome Center.However, they chose to table a discussion and decision on the agreement between the city of Cortez and Osprey, which is looking to donate $10,000 for the charging station.
Councilors unanimously approved three letters of support for local groups looking to establish themselves as Enterprise Zone Projects, which would allow them to receive extra tax credits on their state income taxes.The groups were the Southwest Memorial Hospital Foundation, the Montezuma Food Coalition, and the Cortez Cultural Center.
ealvero@the-journal.com
