{"id":13105,"date":"2026-03-03T10:46:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T17:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/vacancies-disrupt-cortez-planning-and-zoning-commission-meetings\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:34:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:34:56","slug":"vacancies-disrupt-cortez-planning-and-zoning-commission-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/vacancies-disrupt-cortez-planning-and-zoning-commission-meetings\/","title":{"rendered":"Vacancies disrupt Cortez Planning and Zoning Commission meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The
The Cortez planning and zoning commission will soon have a seat to fill now that Tim Kline has announced his plan to resign.<\/span>Sam Green\/The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Cortez canceled Tuesday\u2019s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting after an absence and two vacancies left the panel without a required quorum.<\/p>\n

The commission \u2013 which typically consists of five members \u2013 is down to three, meaning that if any member is unable to attend the meeting, it is canceled. The city is advertising two open positions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just down to a critical number,\u201d said City Planner and Interim Director of Community and Economic Development Jason Armstrong, who helps run the meetings. \u201cWe need more members as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Planning and Zoning Commission makes recommendations to the City Council on planning and zoning matters. It also reviews and decides on applications related to the land use code and develops the comprehensive plan for the city\u2019s growth. Anyone 18 or older who lives within Cortez city limits may apply.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be familiar with the land use code to be on the Planning and Zoning Commission,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cYou will gain that knowledge along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard Fryhover, a current member of the commission, grew up in Cortez and became a real estate agent in the area. He joined because of his passion for affordable housing and his desire to make the city a less expensive place for the next generation of renters and homeowners.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know a lot about the town and I want to see it continue to grow and develop,\u201d Fryhover said.<\/p>\n

He added that the only requirement he sees for members of the commission is a desire to support the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need good people to come and join us,\u201d Fryhover said.<\/p>\n

Armstrong highlighted the opportunity to be involved in community development in Cortez.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get to learn a lot about what\u2019s going on in the community,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cYou get to feel like you\u2019re making some tangible impacts on the future of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The benefit of appointing community members rather than government officials or career politicians to the commission is the on-the-ground perspective they can provide to the City Council, according to Fryhover.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey (City Council members) get a better feel for what the community wants because \u2013 as Planning and Zoning \u2013 we come from the community,\u201d Fryhover said.<\/p>\n

The two vacant positions require appointed members to serve until May or June 2027. Members earn $25 per required monthly meeting and receive $75 in credit to use at city-run facilities such as the golf course or the recreation center.<\/p>\n

Individuals interested in the application and appointment process, as well as the full list of the commission\u2019s responsibilities, can contact Armstrong at (970) 564-4098 or jarmstrong@cortezco.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

Applicants may complete the form on the boards and commissions page <\/a>of the city\u2019s website. The city will conduct a background check, and City Council will interview candidates and decide whether to appoint them. As of Monday, Armstrong said, there were no active applications for the two vacancies.<\/p>\n

avanderveen@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

meeting canceled as member shortage risks blocking routine city business<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-13105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13105"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77060,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13105\/revisions\/77060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13105"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=13105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}