Montrose Citizens for Responsible Growth

Saturday’s Daily Press article regarding the planning commission work session certainly presented a rosy outlook regarding what was accomplished – unanimous agreement to update the Master Plan. In contrast, this is what members of the peanut gallery witnessed:

• The majority of planning commission members wasted an inordinate amount of time whining about how the City mistreats the County.
• There was a 15% return on the master plan update survey. A 1% - 2% return rate is the norm for such surveys. Some commissioners decided that the 85% who did not respond must be just fine with the way things are. The consensus was to review the master plan, but not necessarily update it.
• Since the results from the survey were “all over the map,” they are unlikely to reference the survey in their decision-making. Information obtained from city residents is especially suspect and will likely be discarded, or “weighted.” Note to county residents: The survey that the planning commission requested cost us over $20,000.
• Steve White, Land Use Director, informed the commissioners that, while the master plan is a guiding document, zoning based upon the guidance of the master plan, will follow. Since zoning is regulatory, most of the commissioners concurred that it will not happen on their watch.
• While Steve White has a workable framework for the process of updating the master plan, the planning commission rejected his professional involvement. At this point, he is waiting (and waiting and waiting . . .) for guidance from this so-called “planning” commission.
• No follow-up meeting was scheduled to discuss a master plan update.

What are we to conclude? As long as the current planning commission membership remains, there will be no master plan update, no zoning, no planning, no management of growth and development in Montrose County. Our quality of life will suffer, our infrastructure will be strained, and our county budget will be anemic.

Looks like the planning commission, the majority of whom have ties to a few land owners and vested interests in real estate and development, are in charge of the Montrose County land use policy. And, what is that land use policy? It is to maximize short-term financial gain for a few players in this county and let the rest of us, and the future of this county, be damned.

Exactly who is in charge here? Is it our elected BOCC? Or, is it their appointees who show no inclination to exercise good stewardship over our county lands and resources?

Linda Orcutt
Montrose