La Plata County, CO Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

The county does not use the phrase cultural monument. Its equivalent is a historic landmark or historic district under La Plata County Code § 2-691.42, which covers any land, facility or structure within the boundaries of unincorporated La Plata County. The request goes on the required form, with all required documentation, to the county planning department. Planning staff finish their review and forward the request to the county historic preservation review board for a recommendation. Under § 2-691.42(III), the Board of County Commissioners then has 30 days, at a regularly scheduled meeting, to make a determination. A favorable determination is proclaimed by county resolution. The Board also establishes the La Plata County Historic Register, kept in the office of the county clerk and recorder and in the county planning department files titled "La Plata County Historic Register."

The reviewing body is created by § 2-691.41. The Historic Preservation Review Commission has seven members who serve at the pleasure of the Board of County Commissioners. Members must be county residents, at least 18 years old, with expertise or experience in historic preservation. After the initial terms, members serve three-year terms and may be reappointed. Three members make a quorum, action is by majority vote of those voting, and a tie vote is not affirmative action. Meetings are open to the public under the Colorado open meetings law, with notices posted at the County Administration Building at 1101 East Second Avenue, Durango, Colorado.

A separate rule in the Land Use Code, § 66-32, applies to structures and landscape features over fifty years of age that have architectural integrity or cultural significance. This includes houses, barns, schools, churches, bridges, orchards, ditches and roads. It covers resources on the La Plata County Register of Historic Places and the survey of one hundred historic resources completed in 2010. Under § 66-32, the applicant identifies the resource in the project narrative, and the file is referred to the Commission. A Commission member may visit the site and prepare a brief report for staff within one week after the agency referral period. The section states that an applicant has no obligation to alter the proposal because of it.