Las Animas County

This strategic plan provides guidance for Las Animas County and the City of Trinidad on community and infrastructure development related to outdoor recreation and the opening of Fishers Peak State Park. The plan outlines a comprehensive planning process involving visioning, synthesizing, evaluating, and prioritizing strategies based on community input. Key focus areas include enhancing access, agritourism, commercial development, events, facilities, and transportation, alongside workforce development and partnerships. The plan aims to maximize economic benefits, meet community goals, and includes early action projects for coordination, leveraging existing infrastructure, and developing new recreation infrastructure.

The Las Animas County Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution opposing the Colorado State Joint Budget Committee staff recommendation to suspend the senior citizens' and disabled veterans' real property tax homestead exemption. The resolution emphasizes the importance of the exemption for vulnerable populations with minimal fixed incomes, enabling them to pay bills and remain in their homes. The resolution also highlights the financial support demonstrated by voters through a statewide referendum and notes the significant number of property owners in Las Animas County who benefit from the exemption. Elected officials joined the Board in expressing their opposition to the proposed suspension.

This document updates the 2001 Las Animas County Master Plan, focusing on managing growth through established planning areas: Established Community Areas, Cooperative Planning Areas, Rural Resource Areas, and Rural Conservation Areas. It emphasizes that developers should bear the costs of new development, encourages economic growth via tourism and residential/commercial/industrial expansion, and aims to preserve historic and archeological resources. The plan also focuses on maintaining and improving county roads and enhancing emergency services by updating mapping and addressing systems. It promotes proactive planning for new school sites, developing recreation opportunities, protecting county watersheds and surface water, and appropriately siting electric transmission lines.

The Hazard Mitigation Plan for Las Animas County focuses on reducing the risk and vulnerability to natural and human-caused disasters. Key goals include protecting people, property, and natural resources by developing projects focused on preventing loss of life and injuries, protecting critical assets and infrastructure, and enhancing natural resources. The plan also aims to increase awareness of natural hazards and their mitigation through public information programs and education for officials and business owners. Additionally, it emphasizes coordinating hazard mitigation activities with preparedness, response, and recovery efforts, strengthening collaboration with neighboring communities, and developing systems to identify hazard-prone areas and affected populations.

The Noxious Weed Management Plan for Las Animas County provides policy and guidance for the control and reduction of noxious weeds, aligning with the Colorado Noxious Weed Act of 1996 and its 2004 revisions. It focuses on integrated vegetation management principles, involving biological, chemical, cultural, and mechanical control measures. The plan emphasizes coordination among landowners, education, monitoring, and mapping to manage priority weed species and secure funding for weed control projects.