Chaffee County commissioners on July 16 approved an organizational change in which the former Planning and Zoning department will operate under the new name Community Planning & Natural Resources. Staff said the change better reflects current workloads and programs — including the county’s Common Ground grant program, a record‑of‑deeds "record doctors" initiative and the weed/vegetation functions that will be folded into the planning group.

Julie Moth, the county’s contracted regional sustainability coordinator (funded through a Colorado Energy Office grant managed by the City of Salida), told commissioners she and a small team plan to begin a countywide greenhouse‑gas (GHG) inventory for 2023 as soon as a contract is awarded; the county has an open RFP and expects a contractor to start in September. "We are looking for a contractor to collect all of this information and put it into a database," Moth said; the inventory will break emissions into sectors and municipalities to guide priorities.

Moth also described an active grant opportunity: the Colorado Energy Office’s Impact Accelerator program (letters of intent due Aug. 1). The county is considering a proposal focused on waste‑diversion infrastructure and related policy steps, including equipment (for example, wood‑grinders and nail removers for construction-and‑demolition waste) to support source‑separation and prepare for extended producer-responsibility programs and a future materials‑recovery facility at the landfill. Commissioners were asked to approve a county letter of support for submitting the August letter of intent; staff said the LOI is the first step and a full application would follow if the county is invited.

Other planning items noted in the report: continued rollout of the new land‑use code (a short set of glitch amendments will be drafted and published; a joint work session with the planning commission and commissioners is scheduled Aug. 5), continued coordination on an EV‑readiness RFP for countywide charging infrastructure, and the county’s Safe Streets for All grant project that includes a dedicated vehicle‑wildlife collision mitigation study (staff are selecting a consultant team this month). Commissioners and staff discussed opportunities to coordinate municipal partners — Salida, Buena Vista and Poncha Springs — and staff said those outreach steps are in progress.

Julie’s team is also pursuing waste‑focused work with the landfill and regional partners; staff emphasized that construction-and‑demolition waste is a large portion of landfill inputs and that targeted diversion equipment and policy readiness would support future landfill materials-recovery options.

County staff said the new department name will not change day‑to‑day permit processing and that the short‑term rental licensing and zoning workloads continue under existing procedures while the new units stand up.