San Miguel County reviews updated Pathfinder gravel‑pit site plan, timeline; staff told to seek ways to speed housing delivery

The San Miguel County Board of Commissioners received a detailed update Dec. 5 on the Pathfinder gravel‑pit housing project, including an updated site plan, staging plan and a multi‑year timetable that currently places major grading and permitting through 2026–2028 and construction late in the decade.

The county and consultants said the focus has shifted to what the team calls “area C,” which now contains the largest clustered development yield. Consultants said the site can be “molded” by grading and stockpiling rather than the cut-into‑hillside approach used in earlier phases, and that approach could produce cost efficiencies for roads, pads and infrastructure.

Why it matters: Pathfinder is the county’s largest community‑oriented housing opportunity and is not limited to employee housing. Commissioners and staff repeatedly framed the project as an essential chance to increase supply for San Miguel County residents and urged staff to compress the schedule where possible.

What was presented • Team: KEO Studios (Jim Kehoe), Noel Wilhite and Goff Engineering described a schematic plan showing a loop road with multifamily, duplex and triplex units, a central community lawn, a neighborhood commercial area and a smart bus stop. Visuals modeled building massing, parking and pedestrian connections designed to limit scale and maximize solar access. • Timeline: Consultants showed a conservative schedule stretching through 2028 for permitting and CD (construction documents), with grading and crushing work feasible in 2025–2026 and construction earliest in 2028–2029. The schedule can slide earlier or later depending on pit operations and approvals. • Resource management: Road & Bridge staff (Ryan Leggett) warned the biggest near‑term constraint is stockpile and crushing space on site. “The biggest issue for us is just making sure we have the room to crush,” he said, noting the operation is currently using stockpiles produced last year.

Discussion highlights • Commissioners repeatedly emphasized speed. “Housing is our number one priority,” Commissioner Brown said, asking whether materials could be reshuffled so grading and site work could start sooner. Staff and the design team said many elements can be done in parallel but cautioned work depends on available crushed material, pit tapering and permitting. • Tradeoffs between gravel and housing: Staff said there is a choice between crushing and selling gravel to defer risk and generate revenue versus moving and reshaping material to accelerate site readiness. Road & Bridge noted additional crushing is planned for 2025 and 2026 and that the county has roughly $600,000 reserved for future gravel supply planning. • Staff direction: Jared Biggs (county staff) and project team said they will pursue options to accelerate the tapering of pit operations and to investigate temporary stockpile strategies (including moving stockpiles into areas A or B) and report back. Jared told commissioners, “we will be doing our darnedest to do everything we can to accelerate this.”

Next steps and uncertainties • Staff will refine the schedule with Road & Bridge, explore crushed‑material logistics, and bring options back to the board with clearer tradeoffs (cost, lost gravel value, permitting risks and staffing requirements). • The team emphasized hydrology, geotechnical follow‑up and later site‑specific geotechnical borings once building pads are located. Those studies will shape final unit yields and phasing.

Ending: Commissioners asked for a near‑term update after staff and the contractor work on specific acceleration options. The presentation materials and schematic visuals are expected to be brought back to the board at an upcoming meeting for follow‑up direction.