STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO, Friday, March 18, 2022 – The Brown Ranch Steering Committee met today to discuss housing demand and get updates from the Focus Teams and the consulting team, Mithun. The Committee was aligned in building 800 units in the first phase of construction, but many questions remain about density, type of housing and percentages of rental properties vs. units to purchase.  The Steering Committee will meet March 25th to continue discussions on density as the first step of the decision-making process.

At the meeting, Yampa Valley Housing Authority (YVHA) Executive Director, Jason Peasley posed questions to the Committee, “How much are we going to develop? How densely should we build to meet efficiency and sustainability goals while also meeting housing demand, the desire for a walkable community with meaningful open space?”

The consultants shared a slide (above) that illustrates the developable areas of Brown Ranch.  Although the property is 536 acres, 116 acres are undevelopable because of steep slopes, creeks, and setback and another 114 acres are outside the Urban Growth Boundary, resulting in 324 acres available for development.

The Housing Demand Focus Team reported that there is the demand for about 2500 units by 2040.  The questions the Steering Committee discussed was how much of the land should be developed for those 2500 units, how many units per acre and what kind of diversity of housing can meet the goals of affordable, entry and move-up demands?

“Based on the demand, the community seems somewhat comfortable with 15-18 units per acre which aligns with demand, other communities are doing 16-18 units per acre,” said Peasley.

The Steering Committee stated their comfort level in building about 800 units in the first phase of development based on preliminary infrastructure needs in 2026-2030 but asked the consultants to provide more information about the number of units per acre and the percentage of apartment/condos, townhomes, and single-family homes. The number and density of units will help define infrastructure needs. Other issues like urban design, sustainability, health equity, infrastructure and project economics will continue to be integrated before any final decisions are made.  The Focus teams on these issues are meeting in March, the calendar can be found here.  Summaries of past meetings can be found here.  The next Steering Committee meeting in Friday, March 25th at 9:00 am and can be viewed here.

“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.”