Real Estate in Steamboat

Steamboat Springs – The Steamboat 700 development team Thursday suggested implementing a metropolitan district in the site that could be annexed into Steamboat Springs, but received little support from city planners.

Land use attorney Bob Weiss told the Steamboat Springs Plan­ning Commission that such a district would allow the Steamboat 700 community to conduct its own reviews of some architectural standards in some new development. Steamboat 700 could one day include 2,000 homes and more than 275,000 square feet of commercial space between Steamboat Springs Airport and Silver Spur. Weiss’ comments came during a continuation of the project’s pre-application review in Centennial Hall.

“We don’t want to be here in front of you having to debate about roof pitches, landscaping, windows, those kinds of things,” Weiss told the commission. “We would like to try and do that ourselves.”

Weiss said a Steamboat 700 metro district committee could work within architectural guidelines set by the city and “take the burden off city staff.”

But planning commissioners said that is a burden they would like to keep.

“I’m not comfortable having Planning Commission give up its responsibilities for reviewing development within the city,” Commissioner Rich Levy said. “And I’ve heard no compelling reason why we should.”

The Planning Commission instead supported examining how city zoning could be used to streamline reviews of Steamboat 700 development projects and guide compliance with the West of Steamboat Springs Area Plan.

In July 2006, the Steamboat Springs City Council strongly rejected a metro district proposal from developers of the Wildhorse Meadows project on Mount Werner Road. The focus of that metro district was raising property taxes for future Wildhorse homeowners to pay for infrastructure in the development.

“My answer was absolutely no,” then-City Council President Ken Brenner said. “I think it’s not only a bad policy, it’s also a bad precedent to allow a special district like that to be formed inside the city limits. … I think it would be completely irresponsible of city government to do that.”

No formal action was taken Thursday. Pre-application reviews allow developers and city officials to discuss ideas and assess proposals before the formal application process.

Peter Patten, a land use consultant working for Steamboat 700, said the project’s annexation proposal will use data from a community housing demand analysis, a fiscal impact analysis, an area-wide traffic study, a regional transit study and a water and sewer adequacy analysis.

“These are the big five (studies) that are being enacted right now,” he said.

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Steamboat Springs – The biggest hurdle to widening and improving U.S. Highway 40 from 13th Street west to Steamboat II isn’t how to do it or whether to do it – it’s how to fund it. For that reason, city of Steamboat Springs and Routt County officials as well as our state legislators should play an active role in lobbying for funds to offset the cost of such a significant capital project.

Widening U.S. 40 west of downtown Steamboat is critical to increasing the capacity of Routt County’s major (and in some cases, only) east-west thoroughfare. That need already is apparent by the steady stream of headlights flowing into Steamboat from the west each weekday morning, and repeating itself in the opposite direction each evening. The expansion to U.S. 40 will become a must when construction on the massive Steamboat 700 development commences, possibly as soon as 2010.

Although the need to widen U.S. 40 east of downtown Steamboat has been discussed for more than a decade, little has been produced as far as specific recommendations. That is changing.

On Thursday, consultants from Stolfus & Associates presented a draft of their West Steamboat Springs U.S. 40 Access Plan. The plan details techniques for improving travel on U.S. 40, including removing some existing access points and eliminating turning vehicles from through-traffic lanes. An accompanying capacity analysis will examine the potential widening of U.S. 40 from two lanes to four lanes from 13th Street west to the Steamboat II subdivision outside of city limits.

The Colorado Department of Transportation, which has the final say on improvements to U.S. 40, is partnering with the city on the studies. CDOT has contributed $50,000 for the plans.

That’s good news, as City Engineer Janet Hruby pointed out, because having such plans in place could help U.S. 40 improvements get prioritization – and funding – from CDOT. But those hopes must be tempered with the reality that transportation funding from the state is anything but guaranteed. Gov. Bill Ritter’s Blue Ribbon Transportation Panel released a report Wednesday that identified transportation funding as a “quiet crisis.”

Steamboat Springs City Council members and Routt County commissioners should take a lead role in lobbying for funding and prioritization of U.S. 40 improvements. The city also could have a wild card in George Krawzoff, the city’s outgoing transportation director who is a recent appointee to the Colorado Transportation Commission.

Our state legislators can be even more influential in pushing U.S. 40 improvements at the state level. We hope to see candidates for state Senate District 8 and state House District 57 make the future project a part of their campaign.

Motor vehicle traffic along U.S. Highway 40 will continue to increase as Craig and Hayden continue to grow and future developments such as Steamboat 700 come online. There’s a limited pot of money to fund transportation projects statewide, and the importance of U.S. 40 improvements to traffic flow into and out of Steamboat Springs demands the efforts of our elected officials.

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Steamboat Springs – Local business owners questioned a future traffic plan for U.S. Highway 40 in west Steamboat Springs during a crowded open house Thursday in Centennial Hall. Others who attended the event were happy with the plan, claiming something has to be done to relieve congestion and danger along the highway.

In their second public open house, consultants from Stolfus & Associates presented a draft of their West Steamboat Springs U.S. 40 Access Plan. The plan recommends several techniques for improving travel on U.S. 40, such as eliminating some of the current accesses to the highway and removing turning vehicles from through traffic lanes.

“Our concern is that they show both of our access points are set to be blocked,” said Ulrich Salzgeber, who owns the Routt 66 gas station in west Steamboat with Marty Waldron. “Blocking these two access points is seriously going to decrease the value of our property. … They need to come up with other solutions.”

Salzgeber and Waldron lease the majority of their building to Alpine Taxi. Waldron noted that rerouting a fleet of 100 taxis, shuttles and vans to side streets could be quite costly and difficult. The two men, like other business owners who attended the open house, are not swayed by officials’ claims that access closures will be overcompensated by more efficient traffic flows that will benefit business.

“Ease is everything,” said Steamboat Rentals owner Jack Horner, who believes his direct access to U.S. 40 is crucial to his business. “This is my livelihood. I don’t have a solution to it … but this will cost me most of my drive-in customers from the east.”

Dan Roussin, an access manager with the Colorado Department of Transportation, tried to calm such concerns by stressing the long-term nature of the plan.

“I understand it’s not perfect for everybody,” Roussin said. “What we want to do is plan the whole thing and do the best we can.”

Cost question

Engineering consultant Michelle Hansen said comments made Thursday would be incorporated into a final draft of the plan. She was happy with the large turnout.

“I’m pleased we’re getting a lot more property owners than last time,” she said. “It’s better to get them involved early.”

The access management plan costs $100,000. An accompanying capacity analysis looking at the potential widening of U.S. 40 to four lanes costs $50,000. Both plans deal with the U.S. 40 corridor from 13th Street to just past the Steamboat II subdivision, which is outside city limits. CDOT is partnering with the city in its efforts and has contributed $50,000.

“The ultimate goal is the city, county and CDOT will sign an intergovernmental agreement adopting this plan,” Hansen said.

City Engineer Janet Hruby said no funding has been identified for U.S. 40 improvements, but both studies will aid the city in getting such improvements prioritized – and maybe paid for – by CDOT. Hruby said developers might also be required to take care of their portion of the highway as sites are redeveloped.

“This is a huge tool not only for city staff but for developers,” Hruby said. “It’s a lot easier when you have a plan like this so they know up front.”

Any potential funding from CDOT faces the difficulty of competing with many other projects for the department’s ever-thinning resources. A report released Wednesday by Gov. Bill Ritter’s Blue Ribbon Transportation Panel says Colorado’s transportation funding is in a “quiet crisis” and desperate for a bigger statewide investment.

George Krawzoff, the city’s outgoing transportation director and a recent appointee to the Colorado Transportation Commission, said the problem is compounded by the fact that the construction price index is increasing more than the overall consumer price index.

“Overall, CDOT has a very difficult time funding road expansions,” Krawzoff said. “We’ve put everything in place to make progress on this, but the costs to make any improvements are huge.”

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Steamboat Springs – When the slopes at the Steamboat Ski Area are devoid of skiers and riders in the upcoming off-season, construction crews will take their place.

Before the 2008-09 ski season begins, Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. officials hope to revamp the resort’s on-mountain food and beverage facilities, upgrade the Elkhead chairlift and create new parking solutions, pending approval from Intrawest, ULC, executives next month.

“There continue to be a lot of exciting things headed for Steamboat,” said Intrawest’s Chief Marketing Officer, Andy Wirth, at Ski Corp.’s ninth annual Airline Partners Summit on Wednesday at the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel.

As a fixed-grip chairlift, Elk­head is limited in its speed due to the difficulty of loading four passengers on a fast-moving lift, Wirth said. With upgrades, passengers next season can have a smoother, faster ride, he said.

Given the success of recent revisions to food and beverage facilities at Rendezvous Saddle and Thunderhead, the ski area is looking at enhancements to existing facilities and discussing the possible addition of entirely new facilities.

“Everything’s on the table,” Wirth said.

On-mountain improvements are one of four prongs in the ski area’s long-term development plan, known as Steamboat Unbridled. The strategy also includes base area redevelopment, real estate development and airport and air access.

“In the past 15 years, this resort has been greatly underutilized and struggled to compete in a very competitive market,” Wirth said.

Projects incorporated under Steamboat Unbridled aim to change that through new development and infrastructure improvements, designed in ways that maintain Steamboat’s hospitality and Western charm, Wirth said.

Some base area projects already have gotten under way, including improvements to Gondola Transit Center. Other projects, including roundabouts on Mount Werner Circle, the proposed daylighting of Burgess Creek and a pedestrian promenade at the base of the Headwall area are in the planning stages.

Steamboat Springs currently has lodging for up to 18,700 people, although that figure will drop slightly in the coming years as older properties, such as the Thunderhead Lodge and Condominiums, are demolished to make way for new development, Wirth said.

Just more than half of Steam­boat’s lodging capacity is located in the base area, and Intrawest’s real estate focus in the coming years will be on boosting that number, particularly at “high-quality” properties, he said.

While the ski area does not anticipate a need for more airline seats during season until 2010, when additional lodging capacity is developed, efforts already are under way to modernize air traffic control into Yampa Valley Regional Airport.

Because of Colorado’s mountainous terrain, radar capabilities are lost below about 10,000 feet, said Bill Payne, program director for air traffic control modernization at the Colorado Department of Transportation.

A sophisticated new system undergoing installation for the airports in Hayden, Steamboat Springs and Craig will help to eliminate missed approaches and limit diversions, Payne said. The new tracking system is expected to complete testing and become fully operational in time for ski season service in 2009, he said.

The new system will improve airline and passenger experiences, cut down the required intervals between landings from 15 to only two minutes and hopefully limit the need of aircraft to circle while awaiting arrival, Wirth said.

“The whole experience of getting there and getting home is paramount,” Intrawest CEO Alex Wasilov said Wednesday. “We don’t just sell lift tickets.”

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Steamboat Springs – Having failed in attempts to relocate the historic Butterfly Barn on Mount Werner Road, the city of Steamboat Springs will consider a proposal from the developers of Wildhorse Meadows that would let the barn stay put.

At tonight’s Steamboat Springs City Council meeting, developers will present their preferred plan for the barn, which is to leave it in place and surround it with interpretive trails and signage.

An alternative proposal is to deconstruct the barn and use any salvageable material in the construction of the Wildhorse Meadows plaza. The city planning staff and the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission support the first option.

In 2006, the Steamboat Springs City Council ex­­pressed concerns that the Wildhorse Meadows development would dwarf the barn and asked that efforts be made to move it. The city’s advisory committee for redevelopment at the base of the Steamboat Ski Area originally had hoped to relocate the barn to the grassy knoll at Mount Werner Road and Mount Werner Circle, but failed in negotiations with the Steamboat Grand Resort Hotel’s homeowners association, which owns the land.

“We couldn’t find a good spot for it that would work for everybody,” said Joe Kracum, the city’s redevelopment coordinator for the base area.

The city also considered moving the barn between Central Park Plaza and Mount Werner Road by the Village Inn and at the intersection of Mount Werner and Pine Grove roads.

“They weren’t perfect sites for visibility or for making it an icon at the entrance to the base area,” Kracum said.

Pam Duckworth, chairwoman of the Historic Preservation Advisory Com­mission, said the commission strongly supports leaving the barn in place.

“Moving historic buildings makes them ineligible for listings on (historic) registers,” Duckworth said. “It’s frowned upon and pretty much done as a last resort.”

While the barn’s rural context is quickly evaporating around it, Duckworth said the proposal to incorporate the barn is much preferred to a deconstruction.

“It’s happening all over the state and the country that development is infringing on historic areas and historic structures,” she said. “Hopefully there’s enough room that there can be a buffer and it can stand out.”

Also today, the City Council will consider the first reading of an ordinance that would reconfigure the city’s Local Liquor License Authority into two divisions: administrative and compliance.

The proposal would require the city to contract with a hearing officer to review all liquor violations and failed compliance check violations.

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Steamboat Springs – Since starting his new job earlier this month, Steamboat Springs Public Works Director Philo Shelton has been getting a crash course on the city.

“There’s plenty to learn,” said Shelton, who held the same position in Black Hawk before City Manager Alan Lanning lured him to Steamboat. “Every town has different aspects you have to learn. … It’s a good variety of work. There’s usually never the same issues or problems.”

Besides vowing to improve the department’s customer service, Shelton is conducting an inventory of the city’s infrastructure, reviewing proposed projects and meeting consultants before formulating any concrete plans. In February, he will hold a workshop with the Steamboat Springs City Council to discuss projects.

The current building boom in Steamboat puts pressure on a public works system, but Shelton said he is comfortable with the workload.

“As far as commercial development,” Shelton said, “Black Hawk’s development is very similar.”

A primarily residential dev­elop­­ment, however, likely will present some of Shelton’s most significant challenges. The proposed Steamboat 700 development west of the city could create more than 2,000 new homes and expand city limits.

“The whole city’s going to go through a major process with Steamboat 700 development,” said Transportation Director George Krawzoff, who noted that the West of Steamboat Springs Area Plan calls for high levels of public transit. “Figuring out how to achieve that, I think, is going to be a huge issue.”

Transportation will soon be within Shelton’s domain. Krawzoff has announced he will resign as transportation director in March to accept an appointment to the Colorado Transportation Commission.

With Krawzoff’s departure, Lanning plans to move the Transportation Department under the Public Works Depart­ment and Shelton. Lanning said two areas of expertise that stand out for Shelton are transit and water rights.

“One of the things we’ve got to review with the Steamboat 700 development is going to be the demand on the water system,” Shelton said.

Shelton said the construc­­tion of the New Victory Highway might create some opportunities to benefit the water system for all of west Steamboat because it will create an opportunity for more water line loops and create redundancy, or the ability to deliver water from more than one pipe system.

The lack of redundancy on the west side of the city created an emergency situation in September, when a construction contractor broke a water line near the Bud Werner Memorial Library. The break led to a two-day-long ban on using city water for any purpose in west Steamboat. Deputy City Manager Wendy DuBord said Thursday that the experience encouraged the city to revisit its utilities plan.

Shelton moved to Steamboat with his wife Debbie, his 8-year-old daughter Sydney and his 6-year-old son, also named Philo. He said many factors drew him here.

“I like living in the mountains,” Shelton said. “One of the things that’s appealing is there’s a community; it’s not just a resort town. … I enjoy skiing, too, so that’s a plus.”

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