County seeking planning commissioners

Posted
Staff Writer

Archuleta County is seeking volunteers for its planning commission, and the sooner, the better.

Currently, the board has three vacancies due to resignations, and unless new volunteers are appointed to the board, there will not be enough members to form a quorum after July.

According to a classified ad that has run in The SUN, duties of the Archuleta County Planning Commission include “recommendations regarding subdivision regulations, zoning and development projects, along with amending the Community Plan.”

Regular meetings for the board are held the fourth Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the commissioners’ meeting room in the courthouse.

Per C.R.S. 30-28-103, boards of county commissioners are authorized to appoint a county planning commission of three to nine members. In counties with a population of 15,000 or less, (Archuleta County’s listed population is just over 12,000) the BoCCs have the option of constituting the planning commission themselves or appointing a separate planning commission.

Archuleta County’s planning commission consists of five members when fully appointed.

According to section two of the same state statute, “Each of such members of the commission shall be a resident of the county. The term of appointed members of the commission shall be three years and until their respective successors have been appointed, but the terms of office shall be staggered by making the appointments so that approximately one-third of the members’ terms expire each year.”

In addition to the five sitting commissioners, Archuleta County Administrator Bentley Henderson said the county is “always looking to have a couple of alternates as well.”

Anyone interested in serving on the planning commission is asked to send letters of interest and background to the commissioners’ office, either via email to kbaca@archuletacounty.org to via mail to P.O. Box 1507, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147.

randi@pagosasun.com