ALAMOSA — Those who missed public meetings on a proposed update to the Alamosa Ranch plan still have time to give the city their input before the plan goes to the city recreation advisory board next week.

The rec advisory board will review the plan during a special meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 11, before it moves on to the Alamosa city council later this fall.

Residents may share comments on the city’s web site, cityofalamosa.org, which also has more information about the plan.

Much of the city-owned 1,300-acre ranch off North River Road near the golf course is still a working cattle ranch. Other uses include hiking trails, a disc golf course and an archery area.

The city is also in the process of exchanging a portion of the ranch with RV resort developers. That is still in the works, with the developers still working out financial assurances before the exchange is completed, Alamosa City Manager Heather Brooks told attendees at a recent public meeting regarding the ranch plan.

She said there is no deadline for the developers to do that, but if no activity occurs in the next few months the matter will probably come back to the council for further discussion on options. For example, the city could go forward with the exchange even without the financial assurances so the city could acquire the riparian habitat and trails area offered by the developers.

“Would we rather have this even if this never gets developed, is the question,” Brooks said.

Brooks and City Planner Daniel Vaughn described ranch plan revisions, some based on public comments received at previous community meetings.

Brooks said most of the feedback the city has received so far favored keeping the ranch “status quo” with certain areas to receive special protection from development. Some desired for the entire property to be protected.

Brooks said the city’s current ranch management plan and updated plan include much information about soil types, topography, history, water rights and other information, and Vaughn is adding his analysis as well.

Vaughn described various designated “zones” of the ranch that arose out of public comments and staff recommendations. For example, a protected zone would include area along the Rio Grande with existing trails and riparian activities, while another area encompassing about 120 acres would allow for expanded recreational opportunities and special events.

The bulk of the ranch, he explained, would continue to be used as a working cattle ranch, which most of those submitting comments to the city preferred.

Vaughn added that the draft plan also proposes a zone along Highway 17 for potential economic development, although no specific development is currently planned there. “It is a malleable line,” he said. That area is approximately 75 acres.

“It’s not that we are planning on doing something,” Brooks added. “It’s where we think it’s appropriate.”

Vaughn added that the Rio Bravo Resort is also shown on the ranch map, and once that exchange is made, that resort area will become a 70-acre private inholding on the ranch. Brooks said some public feedback suggested the city should buy the acreage now proposed in the exchange, but she said the city does not have money to do that. The acreage the city will receive in the exchange with Rio Bravo developers includes trails along the river.

One of the questions arising during the recent ranch plan community meeting was about funding for ranch maintenance. City Parks & Recreation Director Andy Rice said the city spends about $7,000 annually on ranch maintenance, which is about the same amount the city receives for its ranch lease.

One of the suggestions during the public meeting was for more ranch oversight, possibly through a ranch manager position, because some portions of the ranch are experiencing degradation or drying up. Brooks said the city plans on making its ranch lease “more robust” in the future, but current staff and rec board members do not have expertise in ranch management. She added that as part of the city’s water augmentation plan, some portions of the ranch might need to be intentionally dried up, but that would be land that is not utilized that much now.

Another suggestion from the attendees was to re-establish the ranch advisory board, even as a sub-committee of the rec board, because as one of the biggest assets of the city, the ranch deserves more attention and focus. Brooks said the role of advisory boards is to provide a voice from the community, not technical advice. The city could consider contracting with someone for ranch management, she said. Two of the former ranch board members currently sit on the recreation advisory board, added Rice.

Other public comments urged protection of the ranch property as a high priority.

Brooks said she anticipated three options for protecting the ranch: 1) through zoning; 2) through a voter-approved protection overlay of approximately 150 acres of the ranch (no residential or commercial development allowed) that could only be changed by another electoral vote; or 3) through a conservation easement.

She added that all of those methods would be presented to the city council for consideration in its final approval of the ranch plan. However, currently the staff is 90 percent leaning towards recommending taking something to the voters to protect a portion of the ranch. She said the council could zone portions of the ranch to protect them from development, but a future council could rezone those areas. She said zoning was not the type of protection the public was seeking, at least from the comments the city had received regarding the ranch plan.

“There’s some people that are nervous about that,” she said.

Some of the public comment during the community meeting was to place at least part of the ranch under conservation easement as a way of permanently protecting it, as there are area residents who are concerned that it might be developed off piecemeal.

Brooks said that a conservation easement is still an option, and staff is still looking into it further. However, her recommendation would not be to place the ranch under a conservation easement. She said by allowing residents to vote to protect a portion of the ranch, control of its future would remain with the city and city residents, not with one entity controlling a conservation easement.

She said others feel differently, and they can share their opinions with the rec board and council, who will be approving the ranch plan.

Those with opinions on the options may share them on the city’s web site.

Caption: During a recent community meeting Alamosa City Manager Heather Brooks points out various proposed zones on the Alamosa Ranch./Courier photo by Ruth Heide

Map courtesy of City of Alamosa