YVHA's Brown Ranch Community Newsletter
March 2022
Happy Monday!!

We have been busy with our Focus Team meetings, learning the priorities of our community, as well as hearing from subject matter experts in housing, sustainable development, urban design, infrastructure, wildlife, and green energy.

We still have several Focus Team meetings in March and would love to see you there.  Please see the schedule below and check out the Zoom links if you cannot attend in person.

We have also shared in this newsletter a few items you might find interesting about our process of developing the Brown Ranch by and for the community.

1.    Community Feedback: We listed the top ten things we have been hearing across all of our meetings.
2.   Analysis of Existing Plans: Our consultants reviewed all the existing plans from the Routt County Master Plan to the West Steamboat Area Plan. You can read more about it below.
3.    Understanding Different Housing Types: Our Housing Focus Team received a presentation about different developments around the country. We listed them out with hyperlinks if you want to look and imagine what they would look like in Steamboat Springs.
4.   Undevelopable Areas: Although there is over 500 acres for the Brown Ranch parcel, not all of it can be developed.  Check out the map below and the breakdown of acreage.

Please look for our next newsletter in April.

We are so excited to embark on this journey with you.

Sincerely,
Jason Peasley and Sheila Henderson

P.S.  We are trying to reach more of the community, so please encourage your friends to sign up for our newsletter on our website and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Our Vision
“The Brown Ranch residents will live and connect in a vibrant, resilient, diverse, and welcoming neighborhood that provides a wide variety of housing options and services designed by and for the Yampa Valley community.”
What we have been hearing
All of the Focus Teams have been meeting and garnering input from the local community here are the Top 10 things we heard.
  • Housing: Brown Ranch should provide a “mosaic of housing” (many different types of housing so there is opportunity for mobility from one housing type to another as personal circumstances change).
  • Density should be a guiding philosophy: concentrated density comes with more open space, shared and conserved resources, and opportunities to connect with neighbors.
  • Design of Brown Ranch should incorporate and tie into the things we like about other parts of Steamboat Springs and Routt County. For example, people love the walkability and human, “pedestrian scale” of Old Town Steamboat, its neighborhood feel, and that it contains an eclectic diversity in architectural styles.
  • Lost Middle Income Housing: This project should prioritize the “cliff effect” for families and middle-income residents. The gap is only widening between low and high income, but Steamboat is losing working class employees because there is not a good solution for that middle ground – and the middle ground is disappearing.
  • Focus on strategies that reduce car traffic, and promote connectivity: Provide everyday amenities (childcare, grocery, medical, etc.) within the site; Make walking, biking, and transit the easiest option; prioritize safety for pedestrians and cyclists; provide a transit center within the site.
  • Be sure that transportation corridors are connected to the rest of town. People who live at Brown Ranch should be able to safely access the rest of town.
  • Design to conserve natural resources. For example, Brown Ranch should be a low-flow development. To conserve energy, consider use of ground source heat pumps.
  • Consider strategies to retain western heritage/character of the site. For example, consider preserving barn and horse stable and use for 4H or riding lessons, community farm, etc. Partner with CSU Extension. Community gardens could be great to build community. Also allows for higher density development where people can still have their own gardens.
  • Deed Restrictions are a polarizing issue and must be explored in-depth as a long-term affordability (stewardship) mechanism.
  • Homebuyer education will be an important part of implementing the vision at Brown Ranch.


Read the full report here.
Join Our Focus Team Meetings in March
Housing and Non-Residential Demand Focus Team
This group will analyze existing shortages and the future needs for seasonal, low-income, entry level and move-up housing market segments. We will also be analyzing non-residential needs to support the neighborhood such as commercial, recreational, childcare, nonprofit and anything else our community prioritizes. The next meetings are:
  • Monday, March 7, 5:30-7:00 pm, Community Center, West Room
  • Monday, March 21, 5:30-7:00 pm. Community Center, West Room
  • Monday, March 28, 5:30-7:00 pm, Community Center, West Room
  • Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84016171302
Natural and Built Sustainability Focus Team
This group will determine the best approaches to sustainability from every aspect including the natural environment to the built environment. The next meetings are:
Urban Design Focus Team
This team will provide feedback to the CDP consultants, who will create concepts for the entire buildout of the site utilizing City of Steamboat Springs Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) Transect Zone District, Street Sections and Open Space/Trails requirements. The next meetings are:
  • Wednesday, March 9, 5:30-7:00 pm, Community Center, West Room
  • Wednesday, March 23, 5:30-7:00 pm, Community Center, West Room
  • Wednesday, March 30, 5:30-7:00 pm, Community Center, West Room
  • Zoom Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5725713720
Infrastructure Focus Team
This team will analyze on-site and off-site needs including transportation, water, wastewater, stormwater, and dry utilities along with phasing for the entire buildout of the community. The next meetings are:
  • Thursday, March 17, 12-1;30 pm, 443 Oak Nonprofit Center Conference Room. Meeting #6: Sustainability & Infrastructure Join together. Recommended Sustainability Direction from the Sustainability Focus Team
  • Wednesday, March 30, 12-1:30pm, 443 Oak Nonprofit Center Conference Room. Meeting #7: Infrastructure Framework. Recommended Infrastructure Framework & Suggested Metrics by Mithun with Technical Team Support
  • Zoom Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5725713720

Stewardship and Project Economics Focus Team
This team analyze the funding mechanisms for each urban design and housing concept to ensure we meet the targeted affordability price points while maintaining long term affordability for workforce housing. The next meetings are:
Analysis of Existing Plans in Routt County
Introduction
This is a high level summary by the technical consultants of available existing Documents containing policies, regulations, plans, and previous studies relevant to the Brown Ranch as of the date of publishing. It helps to provide a common understanding for the community and the Brown Ranch Focus Groups of the policy goals of the community, regulatory framework, and forms the context for additional analysis to be performed as part of the Brown Ranch development process.

It is organized into sections around the Brown Ranch Focus Groups as a platform for discussion. There are numerous synergies and overlaps between the sections, and the Focus Groups should review each section for synergies relevant to their Focus Groups.

How To Use
The extensive Documents reviewed are summarized through the use of a one page Template providing a high level overview of the reviewed document, how it relates to the Brown Ranch, and identifies high level opportunities, constraints, synergies, and gaps. Key points identified in the Template have page references that can be found in the original reviewed Document.
Understanding Different Housing Types
The Housing and Non-Residential Demand Focus Team has been looking at types of housing that are available and different communities around the country. The chart above shows how much to build each type of housing, who would live in the types of housing and density per acre. The Team also looked at housing at these locations to discuss what type of housing and density would be optimal for the Brown Ranch.

Examples of planned communities:

  • Approximate Size: 13.59 acres
  • 150 units
  • 30% Affordable & 70% Market Rate

  • Approximate Size: 41 acres
  • About 70 Units Currently
  • 100% Market Rate 
  • 20-room Hotel, Live/Work, & Restaurants

  • Approximate Size: 35 acres
  • 865 total units
  • 100% Affordable
  • 215 apartment and flex units
  • 650 family ground related units

  • Approximate Size: 120 acres
  • 1500 total units
  • 50% Market & 50% Affordable
  • 215 Affordable apartment and flex units
  • 650 Affordable family housing-type homes

  • Approximate Size: 17.5 acres
  • 800 total units
  • 100% Affordable
  • Apartments
  • Townhomes

  • Approximate Size: 8 acres
  • 131 units
  • 100% Market
  • Apartments & Single Family

  • Approximate Size: 1,866 acres
  • 4,500 Units & 1.8 million square feet Commercial
  • Market & Affordable

  • Approximate Size: 4,700 acres
  • 14,000 Units - 5,000 Apartments & 9,000 Single Family
  • 2.6 million SF Retail & 3.6 million SF Flex/Industrial 
  • Market & Affordable
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Developable Areas
This map shows an early analysis of developable areas, suitable to development, excluding the colored zone shown. "Unbuildable zones", colored on the map, include steep slopes, habitat areas, creeks, encumbrances, parcel setbacks, and geologic hazard areas. Further consideration will be given to potential wildlife corridors and area outside the urban growth boundary.
  • Total Parcel Area: 534 acres
  • Parcel outside of Urban Growth Boundary: 114 acres
  • Undevelopable areas (steep, slopes, creeks, etc): 116 acres
  • Remaining Developable Area within Urban Growth Boundary: 324 acres
Steering Committee
A team of 20 community members tasked with creating an overall vision along with the main priorities that will guide development through the coming decades. The community members are:
  • Andrew Beckler
  • Anne Warhover
  • Cecilia Escobar
  • Ed MacArthur
  • Erin Miller
  • Gates Gooding
  • Genevieve Kalmes
  • Kimball Crangle
  • Kristin Brown Wilson
  • Lina Grant
  • Marsha Daugenbaugh
  • Megan Moore-Kemp
  • Patrick Phillips
  • Patrick Staib
  • Roger Ashton
  • Sarah Jones
  • Tatum Health
  • Tim Wohlgenant
  • Vanessa Avitia
  • Webster Jones
Brown Ranch Planning Team

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An affordable housing development for the Yampa Valley
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Yampa Valley Housing Authority
For inquiries Email: info@brownranchsteamboat.org