Clear Creek County commissioners voted Jan. 7 to accept the Planning Commission’s findings and the Dumont, Lawson and Downeyville (DLD) subarea plan, a community‑driven planning document intended to guide future zoning, development and infrastructure decisions in the unincorporated corridor.

Presenters told the board the plan grew from public engagement including a steering group, multiple public meetings and two community surveys. The project received $60,000 from the Henderson Mine fund and roughly $20,000 in ARPA funding to cover consulting and staff work. Garrett McAllister, the county’s planning manager, and Amy Saxton, staff lead on the project, summarized the plan’s four priority topics: housing (notably quality and affordability), water (most properties served by wells), transportation and pedestrian safety, and strengthening community voice in county processes.

The plan contains short‑term implementation items (for example, creating centralized online resources for well owners, an information packet for new residents, and steps to better manage short‑term rentals), medium and long‑term recommendations (including a possible focused land‑use study for DLD and investigations into funding options for pedestrian safety projects), and a set of suggested performance and outreach steps. Saxton and McAllister urged continued community involvement and recommended a BOCC work session to discuss implementation priorities and timelines.

Commissioners emphasized the need to convert plan recommendations into funded projects, to communicate frequently with residents, and to use the subarea plan as a model that could inform countywide work for other unincorporated communities. The board amended the pending motion to accept the Planning Commission’s findings (rather than to ‘‘adopt’’ the plan on the county’s own authority) and approved the revised motion. Commissioners directed staff to return with implementation steps and suggested convening a task force of local stakeholders to help carry the work forward.

Ending: The accepted plan will inform future master‑planning, zoning and capital priorities for the DLD area; staff said a BOCC work session on implementation details will follow and that continued community engagement will be a feature of execution.