Interviews with more than 50 stakeholders. Dozens of meetings. Nearly three years.

That’s what it took to put together the Ouray Community Plan, an arduous and sometimes tedious process officially completed earlier this month when the Ouray City Council formally and unanimously approved the plan.

The word “plan” may trigger vacant stares and glazed-over eyes for some, but the nearly 100-page document is critical. It is Ouray’s North Star — the guide for how the city will grow and...