According to the preliminary results released by the Steamboat Springs Clerk’s Office, the Brown Ranch annexation agreement will fail.

Posted at city hall just after 8 p.m., the results showed Steamboat voters rejecting the ballot question 2,903 to 2,074 — a margin of 829 votes — with 400 ballots still to be tallied.

More than 4,200 ballots had been received by early Monday afternoon. That number jumped to 5,377 by the time the preliminary results were reported Tuesday evening.

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If the preliminary results hold true, the proposal to construct 2,264 affordable and attainable housing units on 420 acres of land owned by the Yampa Valley Housing Authority west of Steamboat Springs by 2042 will not move forward as planned.

The election’s official results are expected by April 4.

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The vote comes as a major milestone after months of contentious debate over the proposed project, and a victory to residents who opposed the project over its size and projected financial impact on the city and its taxpayers.

Former Steamboat Springs City Council member Jim Engelken — whose name is assigned to the political group formed to oppose the annexation agreement, the Citizens for a Better Plan committee — said he was happy with the initial results Tuesday night, but he acknowledged the housing problems facing Steamboat are not going away.

“I can tell you what I want to happen next: I want the housing authority to take a close look at their own goals and re-evaluate their perception of this community and come back with a plan that is more reflective of the values of the existing citizenry,” Engelken said.

City Council voted 4-3 to put the annexation decision to voters on first reading of an ordinance last fall. They subsequently reversed that decision on second reading, opting instead to annex the property without voters’ input after council member Joella West changed her vote between the two readings.

West said she changed her vote, in part, as a result of a phone call she received from Gov. Jared Polis, who she said conveyed his “urgent support” for the project, along with a concern over millions in potential state and federal funding for the project that could have been jeopardized by City Council’s decision to send the matter to voters this summer.

After council members approved the annexation agreement, a successful citizens petition forced a referendum, leaving the matter up to Steamboat voters to decide Tuesday.

Engelken said he thinks council members “gave way too much away” in their negotiations with the housing authority over the proposed annexation agreement. He referenced the fact that city staff recommended City Council vote down the annexation ordinance in October before it was approved.

Yampa Valley Housing Authority Executive Director Jason Peasley issued a statement after the preliminary results were released Tuesday night.

 “My heart aches when I think of the people who told us the Brown Ranch would be their first legitimate opportunity to own a home, and they compared it to the good fortune so many others had over the past decades to buy a home,” Peasley said. “With this vote, that same opportunity for those community members is two to three years further out of reach.”

In an interview in December, Peasley expressed concern over how the debate over the proposed affordable housing development was affecting the community.

“One of the things that I am a little worried about is just sort of how we repair the social fabric after all of this,” he said. “This has been so much more divisive than I had expected it to be. “

Peasley said one of the things that struck him throughout the lead-up to Tuesday’s vote was that he believed the housing authority was proposing a project that the community wanted.

“I didn’t expect the city is going to be so aggressively against it. I didn’t expect the community to come out in the way that it has,” Peasley said. “The vitriol surrounding this is, I don’t know, we have a job, win or lose (after) this vote, to repair, to restore that community.”

Despite the preliminary results showing voters rejecting the annexation agreement, Peasley noted in his statement that the housing authority “still owns the land, and our mission is to deliver affordable and attainable housing for our workforce.”

“We will continue to work for the community and advance our mission to develop solutions to give our workforce the affordability and security they need to thrive,” he said.

Speaking after the preliminary results were announced, Engelken offered a message to those in the Steamboat community who voted to approve the annexation agreement: “Please stay tuned.”

“This is not going away, nor should it,” he said. “We have a problem and the housing authority is our entity that is going to help mitigate that problem, so pay attention, get involved and help out.”