By Chelsea McNerney-Martinez
MONTE VISTA—The City of Monte Vista’s Municipal Annexation committee met Thursday evening, June 13, to begin work on what will eventually be “The Annexation Strategic Plan” or “Three Mile Plan” to analyze the benefits of annexation of areas within three miles of city limits for future growth.  State statutes dictate the city cannot annex beyond three miles outside of its boundaries per calendar year and must establish a plan accordingly in advance.
Committee members in attendance were City Manager Forrest Neuerburg, City Clerk Unita Vance, Police Chief John Rosecrans, resident and member of the Monte Vista Economic Development Corporation Charlie Spielman and Dr. Tyler Ratzlaff, owner of Alpine Veterinary Hospital.
Vance provided a handout of frequently asked questions about annexation, including an explanation of the committee formation. “The purpose of the annexation strategic plan is to address the potential for annexation of lands within the City’s area of planning interest. This includes property along Highways 160 and 285. The Annexation Strategic Plan is intended to provide the City appointed and elected officials, land owners, project applicants and developers with guidance for annexation decisions. In addition, this plan serves to support Colorado statutory provision C.R.S. 31-12-105, which requires that a municipality have a plan in place prior to the annexation of any land.”  
Neuerburg repeatedly emphasized the purpose of the plan was not to determine what properties the city would immediately begin annexing without the consent of the property owners but rather to create a long-term plan for the greater benefit of the City’s economy, “It’s a growth plan,” he explained. Neuerburg stated the plan is emphasizing commercial areas, not residential, and in either case property would not be annexed without either a request from the property owner to be annexed into the city or without a statement of benefit to the city, which is mandatory by state law. Vance also said the purpose of the committee is to analyze how potential annexations considered in the master plan will affect various different institutions in the area, including infrastructure, law enforcement, traffic, the school district and other businesses/potential interests in the area.
Neuerburg took the opportunity to address some misconceptions regarding the committee’s intentions with annexing properties on Sherman Avenue currently not in city limits. The committee and the city currently do not have any intentions to annex properties on Sherman Ave. Property owners can request annexation but would have to be compliant with connections to city water and sewer services; the wells and leech fields currently utilized by some properties in that area prevent annexation into the city. “The City won’t do any forced annexation… even for properties included in the strategic plan the property owners and others affected have to be largely in support of annexation,” Neuerburg stated.
The committee will also look at the potential zoning for annexed areas in the master plan, ideally creating buffer zones between commercial highway zones and residential low density zones, hopefully avoiding some issues like the residential low density areas with single-family homes south of Big R, Top Value and San Luis Valley Federal Bank, for example. Neuerburg also explained some homes around Fourth Avenue are technically in a commercial zone but were grandfathered in. However, if those homes were ever destroyed they could not be rebuilt because of the zoning. Neuerburg explained the strategic plan can analyze and hopefully predict similar issues and accommodate fair tactics for property owners and economic development, considering logical outcomes and presenting those outcomes for community consideration.
Vance added “Three Mile Plans come up regularly, every so many years” depending on growth and state regulations, citing the success Poncha Springs and Salida have had after establishing plans. “While we can’t be 20,000 people in 20 years we do want to grow in a smart way,” Neuerburg stated.
The next annexation committee meeting will be July 17 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.