Silverton, Colorado

Silverton, Colorado is a rugged, remote, and picturesque community of about 700 residents that has experienced an increase in tourism and popularity in recent years due to its mountain town character and access to year-round outdoor recreation.

Silverton is also home to the Gold Key Mine, which has a history of driving the town’s local economy. But in 2015, an accident occurred causing the release of toxic waste water into the Animas River. The community was able to utilize the federal Superfund program to clean-up the mess, but the effects of the disaster still have a hold on the community and their economy.

The Colorado Department of Health and Environment assisted Silverton in overcoming the effects of past environmental disasters, while also helping the community deal with recent growth pressures. Enlisting the assistance of the Colorado Brownfields Partnership and Community Builders, this project sought to create a unified community vision for Silverton by tackling tough issues like growth, connecting to natural resources, affordable housing, and economic diversification.

Community engagement was central to this project and directly influenced the development of Silverton’s new master plan. As part of the Silverton Compass Master Planning process, Community Builders and the Town of Silverton undertook a significant community engagement effort in 2021-2022. 

During the course of the Master Plan process from March 2021 through August 2022, the Compass Project engaged more than 350 community members through 75+ opportunities to participate in the process. This included task force meetings, walking tours, open houses, targeted focus groups, small group discussions, webinars, and community workshops.

The project’s final output was the Town of Silverton Compass Master Plan. The plan includes recommendations, strategies, and funding opportunities to achieve the community’s goals by strengthening the local economy, providing housing types and prices for everyone, creating family-friendly spaces, enhancing natural assets, and building civic health and capacity.

In the fall of 2022, the Silverton Master Plan was unanimously adopted by both the San Juan Regional Planning Commission and the Town of Silverton Board of Trustees. In 2023, Community Builders and the Town of Silverton received a statewide merit award from the Colorado Chapter of the American Planning Association for the project’s community engagement process. In 2023, The New York Times featured an article about the Compass Project.

To learn more about the process driving the Silverton Compass Project, check out this short film we created!