Town of Dolores Launches Interactive Website for 20-Year Comprehensive Plan

Dolores launched the Imagine Dolores project website on Feb. 19, 2026 as the online hub for updating the town’s Comprehensive Plan, a long-range guide for land use, infrastructure, housing, economic development and town character for the next 20 years. The site invites users to register an email for updates, check the interactive tools as they are added, and view the town’s 1997 Comprehensive Plan PDF now posted as a reference.

Town officials and consultants say the update will move through multiple phases throughout 2026, with the community engagement phase slated for spring 2026 and the overall effort expected to take about a year. The Imagine Dolores site itself proclaims, “THROUGHOUT 2026 THE TOWN WILL BE UPDATING ITS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN!” and lists Phase 1: Foundation as live, with Phase 2: Vision and Community Choices and Phase 3: Draft Plan Review labeled planned.

Funding to get the outreach under way includes a $50,000 matching grant, with $25,000 from DOLA and $25,000 from the town budget. “The town secured a $50,000 matching grant to support the process, with $25,000 from DOLA and $25,000 from the town’s budget. The grant covers only the public outreach and community engagement portion of the project,” project materials say; Town officials note previous funding shortfalls delayed the kickoff until now.

Public participation tools described in reporting and on the project site include an interactive GIS-based map where residents can drop suggestions about places they value, online and paper surveys, and in-person outreach at local gathering spots. Town Manager Leigh Reeves emphasized the priority on local input, saying, “It’s honestly the most important part, because you want it to reflect what's important to town members.” Reeves also signaled outreach beyond downtown, saying, “We will probably do an event at Dolores River Brewery to get not just Dolores people but lots of people who use our town.”

Logan Simpson has been contracted to assist with public engagement, graphic layout and mapping and will work with the Planning and Zoning Commission in the update’s early stages. The Town of Dolores will write the Comprehensive Plan itself while Logan Simpson will review the land use code to identify areas that could be streamlined or better aligned with the new plan; town materials state explicitly that there will be no code updates or rewrites as part of this process.

Next steps include spring listening sessions and surveys, community review of a draft plan, and public hearings before adoption by the town board; the final product will likely be a searchable PDF posted to the town’s website. Residents who want to participate should register for email updates on the Imagine Dolores Comprehensive Plan Update website, drop suggestions on the GIS map when it appears, and watch for outreach events at the farmers market, community center and the Dolores River Brewery during spring 2026. If you have photos or specific suggestions about Joe Rowell Park, Bustang stops or downtown infrastructure, share them through the project site to ensure they are considered in the first Comprehensive Plan update since 1997.