Discovery Land Company will participate in a public meeting this week as the luxury real estate company moves toward submitting a development application for nearly 700 luxury homes, a private ski area and a golf course on roughly 6,400 acres in the Stagecoach area.

While the group has yet to submit a formal application to the county for the project known as Stagecoach Mountain Ranch, Discovery has submitted an application to the Morrison Creek Water and Sanitation District in Stagecoach with a goal to bring thousands of acres of its property into the district’s jurisdiction.

The water district’s board will hold a public hearing on the annexation at the Stagecoach Fire Station at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

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Ed Divita, one of Discovery’s founding partners, said his team is hopeful the annexation will gain approval and help lay the groundwork for the project’s infrastructure.

Divita said most of the land owned by Discovery in Stagecoach already falls within the water district’s boundaries. The company’s annexation proposal deals with nearly 3,000 acres of land outside of district in the southwest section of Stagecoach in the area of the proposed ski mountain.

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According to Divita, Discovery and its advisors discussed various options to provide water services to the area including the possibility of building a private water system but ultimately settled on attempting to join the water district.

“Our goal is to have everybody who has the authority, which would be the board of the Morrison Creek Water District, to agree to include that area,” he said. “Once they are included, then they can treat us like any other customer in our service area.”

The water district’s board voted in May to adopt an annexation policy after staff spoke with Discovery and learned of the company’s intention to submit an adoption proposal.

Under the policy, the water district’s attorney, Tom Sharp, explained that any entity requesting annexation must complete a formal application that triggers a public hearing to inform constitutes and provide for an opportunity for the public to comment.

If the board decides to move forward with the annexation application, a series of legal procedures would be followed before the land is moved under the water district’s jurisdiction.

A letter sent by the water district to Routt County planning staff earlier this year expressed “general but conditional support” for Discovery’s development plans but said that “several water and wastewater infrastructure deficiencies” would need to be addressed.

The letter said a 2023 feasibility study found the need for an additional water storage tank of at least 500,000 gallons, an added pressure reduction station and a booster station associated with the new tank.

“The district’s willingness and support to commit to provide potable water and sanitary sewer collection services for the new developments are contingent on the developer applicants collectively paying for the needed infrastructure,” the letter explained, adding that construction costs for the initial water infrastructure are estimated at $2.5 million.

Divita said prior commitments made by Discovery to help fund infrastructure upgrades for the water district would remain intact.

“It is possible there might be a scale where, with the inclusion, the investment at the infrastructure is at a greater sale, but it’s a marginal addition,” he said.

The water district’s agenda for Wednesday’s hearing includes an introduction from the water district’s general manager, Geovanny Romero, and a presentation of the Stagecoach Mountain Ranch annexation petition before public comments.

The district’s board will not make a decision on the inclusion application. All members of the public are invited to attend.

A link to participate virtually can be found by clicking on the special meeting’s notice posted on the district’s minutes and agendas page at MCWater.org/meetings.