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Steamboat Springs — After decades without a significant expansion of city limits, Steamboat Springs will likely soon see a proposal for a second major annexation in the west of Steamboat area.
The developers of 360 Ranch — a project that spent months last year as a rural subdivision in the Routt County review process before being withdrawn in December — intend to submit an application to the city this week for a new project called 360 Village. The application will include proposals to extend city limits and Steamboat’s urban growth boundary.
“We received a letter from 360 Ranch expressing a desire to annex into the city for development,” City Manager Alan Lanning confirmed Monday.
In terms of proposed annexations, the development would join the Steamboat 700 project already under review, bringing the total number of potential new acres to more than 1,000. Steamboat 700 is 700 acres in size and 360 Village is 350 acres.
Tony Connell, a local partner of general partner Hank Wilton of Virginia, said the name “360 Village” refers to the panoramic views the site offers of the Yampa Valley and its surrounding mountains. Connell said the application would likely include 600 to 650 housing units. Commercial uses also are being considered, but Connell could not say on what scale.
Tuesday, Connell said the development team is about 90 percent ready to submit an application to the city and may do so as early as today. The application is expected by Thursday at the latest, as that is this year’s deadline for applications to extend the city’s urban growth boundary.
Preliminary marketing materials provided by Connell discuss possible project amenities such as a piazza, a recreation center, a “360 Theater,” a chairlift between a park and public plaza, a flume trail, an ice-skating pond, an events center and a child care facility.
Randall Hannaway, another local project partner and a Realtor at Colorado Group Realty, said the project would be “very much a locals’ community.” Connell said the group is committed to satisfying the new urbanism design principles of the West of Steamboat Springs Area Plan as well as its affordable housing guidelines, which stipulate that 20 percent of housing units be made available to people who make an average of 80 percent of the area median income.
Connell served on the Steamboat Springs Planning Commission in the late 1990s when the provisions of the original WSSAP were spelled out. Later, he developed West End Village, where market-rate homes helped subsidize affordable units.
Connell said he hopes for more of the same with 360 Village.
A harder sell
Planning Services Manager John Eastman said 360 Ranch has a tougher road to hoe than Steamboat 700.
“The annexation would be really interesting,” he said.
Unlike Steamboat 700, which is adjacent to city limits, 360 Village lies west of county subdivisions Steamboat II and Silver Spur, between Routt County Road 42 and U.S. Highway 40. State statute requires contiguity for annexation, so the city would first have to annex Colorado Department of Transportation right-of-way along U.S. 40 until it reached the project. Eastman called it a “flagpole annexation” that is possible, but not necessarily logical.
“That’s not typically something that’s encouraged by either state statute or normal annexation procedures,” Eastman said. “It’s not something we’d take lightly.”
Eastman said the city’s biggest concerns relate to the extension of city services. As an example, he described a situation where a city snowplow would pick up its blade as it left current city limits and drive through the county to drop the blade again and plow streets in 360 Village. The project is 1.3 miles from city limits as the crow flies, and just more than 2 miles via U.S. 40.
“From an infrastructure and city services point of view, it is not considered logical,” Eastman said.
The developers disagree. Hannaway said the proposal makes great sense because of its proximity to a church, a school, a golf course and county subdivisions Silver Spur and Steamboat II.
“I actually think it’s quite logical,” Hannaway said. “You can’t really deny that we don’t already have a community there.”
Hannaway also said it is dangerous to allow property owners directly adjacent to city limits to gain too much power by being “the only game in town” when it comes to annexation considerations. Connell said the city’s infrastructure and service concerns would be addressed in the development plan and annexation agreements.
Eastman said the property — formerly farmed by Frank and Dot Hussey and bought by Wilton West Development in February 2007 for $6.74 million — is a tract the city expected might be annexed one day. But officials expected annexations to progressively roll from east to west.
“They’re coming in sooner than expected,” Eastman said. “But our job is to listen to the proposals.”
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Community comments
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spukomy (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 2:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Insert sound of other shoe dropping here.
summerbird (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 6:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Isn't the saying "row to hoe" ? Probably a too old fashioned farming expression in this day of mechanized agriculture. No wonder it gets misused.
sickofitall (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 6:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"amenities such as a piazza, a recreation center, a “360 Theater,” a chairlift between a park and public plaza, a flume trail, an ice-skating pond, an events center and a child care facility."
rotflmao, they will promise anything to get the cities money!
jsr57 (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 7:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
? if steamboat 2 is sourounded by city limits will it also need to be consumed by the city.does someone have an opinion on that
PolarBear (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 7:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's unfair to the people os steamboat 2 to be annexed with out any say! Maybe the city should get the opinions of residents who live in the subdivisions and not just listen to developers and realtors.
snowysteamboat (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 8:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hard Road to Hoe came into usage in the 1800's after a political cartoon was published concerning a Presidential Election.
It has been used (or misused) by many including in public speeches since then. It is considered acceptable as meaning you have a tough journey ahead.
mlawrence (Mike Lawrence)
May 14, 2008 at 8:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Summerbird,
You are correct. The phrase certainly is "row to hoe." That is our mistake.
I just hope my old farm boss, who I worked with for three summers in high school, doesn't see that one. He'd probably shove a hoe in my hand and put me at the weedy end of more than a few rows.
Thanks for the heads-up.
Mike Lawrence
City editor
Steamboat Pilot & Today
(970) 871-4233
mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com
424now (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey Thread!
Some of our roads look like they have had a hoe taken to them.
dogd (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 12:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Not necessarily logical". Looking at the article, that is the key quote. Or, for efficiency, you can shorten the thing ....NOT.
another_local (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 1:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Forget it. They need to approach Steamboat II about incorporating or some other solution. NO way this should be parrt of the city.
Paul_Mitchell (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 1:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Should Heritage Park, Silver Spur and Steamboat 2 be considered as part of the annexation process for the 360? That is a great question. If 360 was annexed then we, the citizens of the Metro District, would be paying extra property taxes, pay the same sales taxes on all our daily needs we buy in town, have additional HOA dues to cover snow removal, and yet receive no services. I personally would hate to see the plow bypass my house, with it's blade in the air, to provide services to others.
If this is going to happen, we should be figuring out what we want.
sbsmon (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 1:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Sounds to me like they are going to draw the lines along the west edge of Steamboat II and Silver Spur and leave them out of the annexation.
Here's a question for everyone. What about the city bear and trash ordinance? Are the city police going to drive right past Steamboat II to enforce the ordinance in this new subdivison. That will be an interesting dilemma. A guy living in this new subdivison gets a fine when the guy living behind him in Steamboat II can leave his garbage out for the bears to feast upon without recourse.
another_local (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 2:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Steamboat II, Silverspur and 360 need to combine with each other and incorporate as a new entity. Forget about joining Steamboat.
Hammurabi (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 2:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I seem to remember that when the city extended and enlarged the water line out to Stmt. II, all the residents had to sign pre-annexation agreements. Are they still valid?
sbsmon (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 3:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
They had a hard enough time getting enough owners in Steamboat II Filing 2 to sign off on an agreement to convey the parks and open space out of the defunct HOA over to the Steamboat II metro district. They can't even keep their HOA active. Now you are asking them to incorporate into a new municipal entity. Good luck with that one.
weststmbtres (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 3:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I live in Steamboat II and when we bought our house several years ago the annexation agreement that was signed by a prior owner was given to us by Steamboat Title It was shown on our policy so I'd say the title companies believe it is still a valid document at least at that point they did.
MtnWarlock (anonymous)
May 14, 2008 at 8:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Gee, flag pole annexation! Hmm, can you say illegal? Last I knew of state law, it was! Most people live in HP/Spur and Steamboat II because they are away from the Steamboat Imperial Empire! Maybe like another_local suggest; Steamboat II, Heritage Park and Silver Spur should bring on 360 and incorporate to become the township of Steamboat West! They already have a metro district that can supply municipal services! They could purchase the old Selby ranch and turn it into a business district. There is 35 acres of school land in place for another school as well! Gee, I think they are bigger than Oak Creek or Hayden now! They could do this! Heck, they could even have there own mayor! Maybe Paul Mitchell (Ex-metro district board member) and (HOA board of Silver Spur), could run! Then, sbsmon could get an ordinance for bear proof trash cans passed. LOL! Like the old cowboy say's; "Keep your city out of my country"! I guess the cowboy is finally selling out like the rest have! (sad). Have a good one!
weststmbtres (anonymous)
May 15, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
MtnWarlock, Anyone who lives in bear county ought to have enough sense to keep their trash locked up. Not doing so creates nuisance bears that have to be put down. I think sbsmon has a point. Why do we enforce trash ordinances in the city limits but ignore it elsewhere. It should be county wide. The bears don't know that we drew an imaginary line between those who are required to keep their trash locked up and those who are not. However, the people do know where the line is. The people who choose to ignore it because of pure laziness and the fact that they can't be prosecuted by the law because they live on the other side of the line are doing so at the bears expense. A fed bear is a dead bear.
MtnWarlock (anonymous)
May 15, 2008 at 5:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
weststbtres,
I agree! They do taste good though! I used to hunt them for food! Now that it’s been 15 years since the elimination of spring bear hunts, we are seeing a problem with the populations. Urban sprawl has added to the shameful problem! needless to say, I do not hunt them anymore! "More vegetarian now". Your also right about others personal responsibility and initiative about trash!
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