Hundreds of South Routt community members packed into the Stagecoach firehouse Monday evening to hear from the private developer behind plans to build nearly 700 luxury homes and develop a private ski resort and golf course in the area.

Two founding partners with Discovery Land Company, Steve Adelson and Ed Divita, took more than an hour to walk through preliminary plans for an initially patient crowd packed into seated fold-out chairs and standing in the back of the firehouse’s engine bay.

Others listened quietly, and skeptically, through open windows outside of the station.

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“We want to actually be doing something that makes this place better … We respect people, and we respect places,” Divita told the crowd, adding that Discovery billed itself as a “small, family-oriented company.”

Founded in 1994 by Michael Meldman, Discovery Land Company operates 35 exclusive private real estate and recreational clubs across the U.S. and the globe and employs roughly 6,000 people. The properties include, most notably, the Yellowstone Club in Montana, along with clubs in the Caribbean, Italy, Dubai and Portugal.

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In the fall of 2022, Divita said representatives from the company visited the Stagecoach area at the invitation of local realtor Chris Wittemyer.

Wittemyer and members of his family own much of the land where Discovery plans to develop the project, and are now partners in the private resort’s development. The project aims to build roughly 650 luxury homes, a private golf course and a private ski resort across 6,000 acres of land in proximity to the Stagecoach reservoir.

The homes will be sold on lots ranging in size between five and seven acres, and will be valued between $5-15 million, according to Adelson. At the development’s full build-out, the private club is expected to hire roughly 600 seasonal and full-time employees.

With the development plans, Divita and Adelson said they were committed to going beyond requirements of Routt County’s newly adopted codes.

Adopted in June, Routt County’s new zoning and subdivision regulations — which are based on a master plan approved in 2022 — would see Discovery on the hook for necessary road and water and sewer infrastructure upgrades for the area, among other things. The company would also need to construct at least 144 workforce housing units for their employees.

Divita and Adelman noted plans for a small commercial development to include a gas station and a market to serve the local community. They also said Discovery would be investing in local schools, medical clinics, and in support of first responders — including the Oak Creek Fire District.

The initial plans from Discovery show intentions to add additional public amenities, including a community green space, gardens, and a tubing and sledding area — along with a trail head with a parking area for the community civic open space.

The plans would also create contiguous open space connecting to BLM land, and would see Discovery building additional ingress and egress roads that the public would be able to access in case of an emergency such as a wildfire.

But the olive branches extended from Discovery during the presentation did not necessarily appease the majority of attendees at the meeting who were offered an opportunity to address the Discovery company founders.

Anthony Manoco asked Divita and Adelman about how the private ski mountain and golf course might benefit the local community.

“What are your plans for public access to both the ski area and golf course?” he asked. “It would be a travesty if we saw that mountain go empty for 30 to 40 years only to be open for those that are rich enough and fortunate enough.”

“Our thinking is that we are not going to be open to the public,” Divita said. “Number one: We are not Alterra. We are not Vail.”

“You are worse!” yelled a member of the audience.

Outside of the firehouse, Gabe Hedstrom, a resident of the South Shore area in Stagecoach for the past 14 years, said, “the presentation was good, it was polished and professional and you can tell they have done it a bunch of times.”

An engineering manager by trade, Hedstrom said he receives mail and calls weekly with solicitations to buy his two lots in Stagecoach — but he never responds.

Hedstrom added that he knows the development will add to the value of his property, the bigger concern for him centers around how Discovery will actually benefit the local community beyond its members.

“You can just tell by the way that everything is framed: a community road, egress road; for housing; or like, we are going to preserve this area so you can look at it,” Hedstrom said. “I have a beautiful spot. I love where I live; it’s going to make my property value go up. It’s sad that there’s nothing to be publicly accessible; it’s kind of a shame, but … is it inevitable? Yeah, there is enough money behind it.”

Not all in attendance were necessarily against the proposed private club development.

Kolby Sumskis grew up in Steamboat and lives north of Stagecoach near Black Tail in South Routt. She said she was “on the fence” about the proposed development.

“I think it’s a great use of the ski area that has always been planned to be a ski area,” she said. “It’s good for a lot of businesses; but then there is a lot of tension of bringing more people with more demand and the original housing crisis — it goes back to that a little.

“I think they are trying to address (that issue) but I don’t think they are addressing it in the right way.”

Republican Routt County Commissioner candidate for South Routt, Brent Romick, said he learned a lot from Discovery’s presentation on Monday and was somewhat supportive of the plans.

“I don’t know all the facts yet to say to what degree I support it or don’t support certain aspects of their plan,” said Romick, who noted prior approved plans to the area allowed thousands of homes to be built in the area. “I have seen a lot of plans go through Stagecoach; they have never had a plan at this scale where you both have the ability, expertise wise, and the financial ability to take a plan that was a horrible plan and make it much better.”

No official development plan has been submitted to the county from Discovery as the company and its partners work to create a range of studies and fiscal impact analysis needed for their planning applications.

Divita said the planning review process in the county could take between 6-8 months, but expressed confidence over the project going through.

Asked what might cause Discovery’s development plans to fail, Divita said he believed the project would conform to the county’s adopted zoning code.

“My actual personal answer is that I can’t find anything that would stop it, to be honest,” he said the morning after the Stagecoach meeting. “It is a growth area that is part of the (Routt County) master plan, and it’s what is wanted.

“Our project brings economic development that is very significant to the area.”