YVHA's Brown Ranch Community Newsletter
April 2022
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Happy April!!
We want to thank all our Focus Team Leaders and participants. Since January 27th, we have had meetings almost every week diving deep into infrastructure, sustainability, housing demand, project economics, and urban design. The dedication of our volunteers proves what a generous community we live in. Thank you, thank you.
Here are the main updates for April:
1. Steering Committee Meetings: The Steering Committee meets every Friday to analyze and discuss how the Brown Ranch will be designed based on all the information from the Focus Team Meetings and outreach to the community. At one of the meetings in March, the committee agreed that the anticipated first phase of the Brown Ranch would include 1150 units by 2030 and 2300 units by 2040 to meet the housing demand in the community.
2. Focus Team Meetings: We have had over six meetings for every Focus Team. Here are the folders for each Focus Team if you want to read original documents.
3. Existing Documents Summary Book: Last moth we shared this document, but we have added at least ten new our summaries in this new version: Existing Docs summary book.
5. Survey: The Yampa Valley Housing Authority is working with the Steamboat Springs Chamber to gather information from local employees about current and future workforce housing needs. If you are a local employee or employer, please take and share this survey to help us gather this important research.
6. Health Equity: In addition to the Focus teams, the Brown Ranch team has embarked on an effort to include health equity into the design process. What is health equity you ask? It is a lens to ensure that residents have access to the services needed to stay healthy which includes access to healthy food, medical and dental services, childcare, housing, transportation and more. You can learn more here from the initial meeting about health equity.
6. Next Steps: In April and May, the Brown Ranch team will be participating in design charrette exercises, which is an intense design period. The plan is to make bring all the research from the Focus Teams, Steering Committee and community input together to develop a draft design plan that will be presented to the community in June for feedback.
Please look for our next newsletter in May
We are so excited to embark on this journey with you.
Sincerely,
Jason Peasley and Sheila Henderson
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“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.” |
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Steering Committee Update |
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The Steering Committee meets every Friday and reviews research conducted by the consultants and analyzes many of the hard questions that need to be addressed. Some of the key issues addressed at the meetings include:
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Community Feedback: We have heard from the community. Depending on the age group and type of work they do, there is a demand for both rentals and homes to buy.
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Phases: The Committee anticipates that phase one construction will deliver 1150 units by 2030, 2300 units by 2040 satisfy housing demand.
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Land Use: The Committee decided that in Phase One, not all the developable land will be used, only a portion will be developed to allow for more options in the future. The northern acreage outside the current Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) will not be developed in Phase One.
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Density: Density is the key to keeping the Brown Ranch affordable and equitable. Density also enhances opportunities for open space, increased sustainability, land for a village center and commercial services. Density also allows for more ownership opportunities.
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Affordability: The goal is to keep housing at around 30% of income.
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Diversity: The draft design will include a diversity of design types including apartments and single-family homes and there will be a mix of rental and owned homes.
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Single Family Detached vs. Apartment/Condo: Although many community members have said they would like a single detached home, the Brown Ranch team also learned that it could build seven apartments/condos in a building for the price of one single detached home. The reality of homebuilding costs, where the funding will originate, and the housing demand needed to be met, will influence the final decisions made.
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Design Charrettes: The team will be reviewing draft design plans before they are presented to the community.
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Housing and Non-Residential Demand Focus Team |
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Thank you to the Housing Demand Focus Team. Meeting notes and presentations from this Focus Team can be found here.
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Natural and Built Sustainability Focus Team |
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Thank you to the Natural and Built Sustainability Focus Team. Meeting notes and presentations from this Focus Team can be found here.
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Thank you to the Urban Design Focus Team. Meeting notes and presentations from this Focus Team can be found here.
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Infrastructure Focus Team |
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Stewardship and Project Economics Focus Team |
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Thank you to the Stewardship and Project Economics Focus Team. Meeting notes can be found here.
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Version two of the Analysis of Existing Plans in Routt County |
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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.
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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.
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Total Parcel Area: 534 acres
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Parcel outside of Urban Growth Boundary: 114 acres
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Undevelopable areas (steep, slopes, creeks, etc): 116 acres
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Remaining Developable Area within Urban Growth Boundary: 324 acres
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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
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Brown Ranch Planning Team |
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An affordable housing development for the Yampa Valley |
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Yampa Valley Housing Authority |
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