Yampa Valley Sustainability Council has been deeply involved in the creation of the community development plan for Brown Ranch. While YVSC is not taking a position on the current annexation referendum, we want to underline the ways Brown Ranch models smart growth and climate smart development.

First, while new development and expansion of urban areas can be anathema to sustainability principles, densely developing in areas that are designated as urban growth areas is smart growth. Brown Ranch lies within the urban growth boundary for the city of Steamboat Springs and is designated as a “targeted growth area” in the Routt County Master Plan and the West Steamboat Springs Area Plan.

Land use planning and “growth area” designations are essential conservation tools because they control urban sprawl and encourage denser development in places that have infrastructure access and are closer to job centers. Routt County, through good community planning, has succeeded more so than other mountain and resort regions in protecting open space and sustaining our rural and agricultural heritage.

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While limited workforce housing has driven the need to plan Brown Ranch now, the region is also on track for additional growth that will need to be addressed. The Colorado State Demographer’s Office projects a population increase of 20% in Routt County by 2040. We know the ways such a growth trend puts “pressure points” on rising home prices, regional transportation issues, recreation conflicts and continued threats to the county’s rural and agricultural character. There are not enough remaining vacant infill parcels within city limits to accommodate future growth, so smart growth solutions like Brown Ranch are optimal.

Second, if we are going to achieve our Routt County Climate Action Plan goals, we need to electrify all new and existing buildings. As the energy grid becomes cleaner, electric buildings will generate fewer emissions. The development plan for Brown Ranch proposes an all-electric community, and goes a big step further by planning for a geothermal, district heating system.

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High-performance districts, like the proposed Brown Ranch, are multi-building projects that take advantage of the synergies available when energy consumption and production are considered on a district scale rather than a single building scale, thus optimizing energy conservation and efficiency, heating and cooling systems, and renewable energy systems on a life-cycle basis. Benefits include cost reductions from economies of scale and higher district-wide efficiency due to building and energy load diversity.

In line with National Renewable Energy Laboratory recommendations, the first essential step in planning a high-performance district community is performing an energy master plan: The results of Yampa Valley Housing Authority’s Brown Ranch Energy Master Plan identified that YVHA would save an estimated $110 million in lifecycle savings over the next best alternative, and a low-no carbon impact from heating and cooling. Brown Ranch thus demonstrates how fiscal and climate responsibility can intersect through robust energy master planning.

Third, maximizing investments in land and water-based climate solutions and increasing use of “natural infrastructure” is key to achieving our climate goals. Recent research indicates that up to a third of our global emissions can be sequestered through global investments in reforestation, restoration and land management practices that increase carbon storage and sequestration in our forests, riparian/wetland and grassland ecosystems.

Brown Ranch includes an ephemeral stream called Slate Creek in the eastern portion, where much of the planned early development is located. With input from YVSC, YVHA prioritized the restoration of Slate Creek at the outset of the development planning process and issued a request for proposals for restoration plans for the stream that would help manage stormwater runoff through investments in natural infrastructure and serve as a natural amenity for residents.

Planning for the riparian ecosystem of Slate Creek at the outset of the community planning process elevates natural climate solutions. In time, the community can help plant and steward the area, a type of community-building initiative that YVSC and our hundreds of annual ReTree volunteers know well. Climate action can build community, and here Brown Ranch shows the ways that carefully planned community building can generate climate action as well.

Smart growth and a built environment that prioritizes low carbon emissions and investments in resilience is what the region needs more of as we work to minimize the environmental and social impacts of projected growth in our region. The Brown Ranch development plan is a model of what that can look like. For more details, visit BrownRanchSteamboat.org/the-brown-ranch-community-development-plan/ to read the plan in full or see summaries of key elements.

This guest column was submitted by the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council board and staff.