Update 5/5/2022 – Today the initiative was certified by the City Clerk! 768 signatures were needed for certification. The count was stopped at 771 verified, non-duplicate signatures and there were another another 347 uncounted, for a total of 1,118 signatures. Thank you to all who signed the petition! The Citizens Voice is being heard.
The citizens initiative ordinance modifies the existing zoning review process for siting emergency Protective Service facilities (fire/police) in the Central Business Zone District, i.e. downtown Durango.
The existing code currently classifies these uses as an “A” Allowed Use within the CB zone district, giving sole discretion to one provider of protective services to preemptively and unilaterally make such a decision with no public input or review process and no action taken by the City Council at all. The current process does not allow any public engagement as to the appropriateness of the use at a particular location at all.
The citizens ordinance calls for fire/police facilities to be reviewed as a “C” Conditional Use, which would require a public hearings on the appropriateness of a fire/police facility at any particular location in the downtown, with the ultimate decision (approval or denial) whether the proposed location is appropriate resting with the Planning Commission. Projects denied by the Planning Commission can be appealed to the City Council for their review and consideration. Conditional use reviews are commonly used for land uses which have atypical effects on adjacent land uses, create large traffic impacts, alter on street parking, generate excessive noise or fumes, or which are not commonly found in the downtown.
Petitioners –
Greg Hoch, Robin Wiles, Ted Wright, Ellen Stein, Thomas Egolf, Joe Hanrahan, Sheryl Lock, Jenny Hill, Ken Francis, Holly Jobson, Mary Oswald, Charles Shaw, Lisa Shaw, Gary Schroeder, Sarah Shaw, Kent Ford, John Mahoney, Bill Carver, Peter Schertz, R. Michael Bell, Maggie Bowes, Lisa Marie Glass, Kendra Quan, Dallas Belden, Jim Shadell, Micki Rhodes, Linda Geer, Glenna Sexton, and Karen Pontius
Note: You must be eligible to vote in City elections in order to sign the petition (e.g. reside within the City Limits).