The Yampa Valley Housing Authority (YVHA) agreed that 80% of future residents of the Brown Ranch would be from outside Steamboat Springs. The 80% figure was the basis for the Fiscal Impact Analysis study for the Brown Ranch annexation. YVHA’s reasoning for 80%? More residents from outside Steamboat improves sales tax revenue numbers so the City has more money for capital costs and the budget is closer to balancing. The YVHA, however, continues to claim Brown Ranch is for locals. You can’t have it both ways, YVHA, so which is it: housing for Steamboat locals, or more sales tax?

The Brown Ranch will house 6,100 people on 420 acres. That’s a 45% increase in Steamboat’s population, and a thousand more people than Breckenridge - except Breck is spread out over 3,700 acres.

There are two capital budgets that must be funded for the Brown Ranch budget to succeed: the YVHA and the City. When YVHA says the Brown Ranch can be developed with no new taxes, they’re only talking about their budget. City residents will have to cover City budget shortfalls through unnamed revenue sources (likely new taxes) and/or reduced services. The City Finance Director told the City Council that the City cannot afford the development “without a new funding source.” To date, YVHA has offered no funding assistance for the City.

A January 2024 traffic study, required by the City and commissioned by YVHA, concludes that approximately 17,000 new vehicle trips per weekday will be generated between the Brown Ranch and the City at buildout. But even in the first phase of development, over 9,100 new vehicles will clog our already strained roadways. “We can’t build our way out of [the 13th Street bottleneck],” said Public Works Director Jon Snyder, also noting that rivers, mountains, and private property make the downtown bottleneck unavoidable, no matter how many lanes are added on the west side.

The total cost of Highway 40 improvements for the Brown Ranch is $75 million. The $20 million YVHA claims they will provide for Highway 40 is just pass-through funding from the STR tax. The City is responsible for the remaining $55 million. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will only offer significant funding for highway 40 improvements if the much worsened conditions are regional, and not caused or worsened by the Brown Ranch. Otherwise, they consider it a locally caused issue and the City’s responsibility. Brown Ranch Highway 40 improvements are not currently included in either the 10 year CDOT regional plan, or the 20 year CDOT state plan. The project is ineligible for U.S. Department of Transportation RAISE funding because it’s not in the state plan, and not focused in a disadvantaged area.

Sources: Brown Ranch Annexation City Council meetings, October 10, 2023 and October 17, 2023, Attachment 2: City Capital Gap; Presentations by City of Steamboat Springs Public Works Director and Special Projects and Intergovernmental Services Manager to the Steamboat Springs City Council, October 10, 2023.

The Annexation Agreement makes it clear that the Housing Authority is focused on more large scale apartment buildings. Two-thirds of the Brown Ranch is planned to be multi-family rentals and condos. Only 11% of Phase 1, and 13% of the total project will be single family detached homes. Is this the mix of housing that will entice young professionals to stay in our community?

The hardworking residents of Brown Ranch won’t have the amenities that Steamboat enjoys. YVHA staff initially promised a “robust” transit system to mitigate traffic. Alas, there is no money for it, so a decent transit system was eliminated to give the appearance of financial feasibility. Instead, Brown Ranch will have a woefully inadequate “mini transit” system with two on-call drivers for 6,000 residents (essentially a two vehicle Uber service!), and they’ll only deliver to a City bus stop. Meanwhile, the City doesn’t have money to add additional buses for 6,100 people. What will people do? They’ll have to drive and sit in traffic.

With a $52 million shortfall, City Council determined that funding for City parks would be a low priority. The YVHA had no objections. Why? There’s no money, and by removing the city park, it looks like the budget balances. Consequently, the families who support our community and who will live in the most dense, highrise portion of the development won’t have ball fields for their kids to kick a soccer ball with their friends. Where are they going to go? To already overcrowded city parks within the existing City?