The Steamboat Pilot & Today: Chat with Susan Dellinger

Chat with City Council President Susan Dellinger

May 25, 2007

Susan Dellinger, president of the Steamboat Springs City Council, will be available for a chat at 2 p.m. Friday.

sstanford: Good afternoon. I'm Scott Stanford and I will be moderating today's chat with Susan Dellinger, president of the Steamboat Springs City Council. Susan, are you ready to go?

Susan Dellinger: I'm here and ready, Scott.

sstanford: Last week, the City Council decided to put off hiring a sustainability coordinator until the 2008 budget cycle. Is this a position you see as necessary for th city long-term? Why or why not?

Susan Dellinger: Council originally funded the Green Team specifically to help the city facilities become more sustainable because we felt the position was a long term necessity. Our staff did so well on their community outreach that the interest in sustainablity has grown the Green Team from a few in-house staff members to more than 50 folks throughout the community. That group recommended that a position be budgeted to coordinate sustainability in Northwest Colorado. We need to examine whether that is the city's role or are we just a member of such a group.

sstanford: The council has approved the first reading of its new inclusionary zoning ordinance. How satisfied are you with the state of the ordinance after the first reading. What kinds of changes might we expect in the second reading?

Susan Dellinger: I am very satisfied with the amount of work done on this ordinance. We have had an opportunity to see it three times prior to its first reading, the planning commission has helped its evolution and the public has been able to have input seven times so far. Mark Halvorsen from the Building Trades Association has assisted us with calculations to work through the mitigation rate discussion so, I am happy with the process. Having that much work on it and the completing the worksession last week, I don't forsee a many significant changes at second reading.

sstanford: The newspaper has argued that if the inclusionary zoning ordinance is too restrictive on developers, it will hinder affordable housing efforts — fewer projects will get done and the price of housing will rise even more. Are you concerned this is the case?

Susan Dellinger: Using other communities' information about their enacting inclusionary zoning and the buildingtrends and housing costs that changed afterward, I am confident we will be positively effecting our community. We have a economic issue that has not been addressed with any regulations over the past twenty years and it worsened. Without a workforce, our sustainability in the construction industry, retail sales, recreation, etc. is more of an issue to me than any other economic sustainability discussion we have and the inability to hire people to work here goes beyond labor employment. It is effecting our medical, educational, and professional positions and therefore, effecting our community's sustainability. We have to understand the importance of keeping Steamboat Springs accessible to employers and employees.

sstanford: There is a proposal on the table to build a regional sports complex in Hayden. Many of the fields will support Triple Crown sports. From your perspective, does the city of Steamboat Springs have a responsibility to be involved in helping fund the construction of such a complex? Why or why not?

Susan Dellinger: I think our community is funding Triple Crown Sports now. We currently maintain fields, parking lots, transit services, and provide staff for the group's tournaments. The question for me is does our community want to expand that financial obligation to maintain a larger complex for Triple Crown Sports? Building a facility isn't the real cost for the community as far as I am concerned. With grants and regional support, I would think the initial construction costs would be less important than the on-going operations and maintenance requirements that will be necessary from then on. I would need some significant long term financial commitment from Triple Crown and strong community desire to support our long term financial involvement. I would also need to know how that financial obligation would effect our own needs in Steamboat Springs.

sstanford: The affordable housing ordinance and changes to it have consumed a lot of council time. In your view, what's the next "big" council project coming down the pipeline?

Susan Dellinger: Economic Sustainability. Formula businesses, workforce needs, future planning - all those are integrated into economic sustainability and the most important thing we need to be working on. I would like to see us deveolp planning tools that we can use to not under or overbuild retail, housing, office, or recreational square footage for example. Tools that we can use to ensure we are approving the kinds of development and growth we need in a timeframe that our community can support.

sstanford: What is the status of the Steamboat Springs Airport alternatives study? What do you believe the study will show?

Susan Dellinger: The completion of the alternatives study is to coinincide with the completion of the Master Plan in February, 2008. My hope is that between the two studies, the community can see a 360 degree view of the airport. What are the pros of the airport remaining an airport and what potential changes of use are available with their pros and cons as well.

sstanford: That concludes our chat. Thanks for joining us today, Susan

Susan Dellinger: Thanks, Scott.