The Brown Ranch Annexation Agreement adopted by Steamboat Springs City Council is a sound agreement that protects the city and sets forth the framework as the Yampa Valley Housing Authority moves forward to provide the affordable and attainable housing this community desperately needs.

The annexation agreement allows for a phased approach to provide housing to meet the future projected needs — up to 2,264 housing units over a 20-year period.

Per the terms of the agreement, 450 affordable and attainable units must be built within six years and a total of 1,100 units within 12 years, around 100 units per year.

---

---

Brown Ranch will be a mix of different housing types, including multi-family units, single-family attached and single-family detached for rent and purchase. There will also be around 400,000 square feet of non-residential space.

YVHA will conduct periodic needs assessments and if there is no need for housing, no additional units will be built, or the mix of housing units will be adjusted as determined by the assessments.

---

---

Even though the development of Brown Ranch is phased, annexing the entire parcel of land initially allows YVHA to leverage the short-term rental tax revenues to pursue funding from state, federal and private entities to offset the costs.

Under the Annexation Agreement, the city has no legal obligation to fund its share of Brown Ranch. At any time, City Council may decline to approve land use applications if funding is not available for the necessary infrastructure, or if the City Council finds that existing infrastructure is inadequate to support development at Brown Ranch.

These provisions give City Council the tools necessary to protect the city’s general fund and to ensure that development does not occur without the construction of the necessary infrastructure.

Additionally, the funds from the STR tax designated for affordable and attainable housing at Brown Ranch, including infrastructure, can be reduced accordingly or terminated, if YVHA doesn’t construct the units by the dates set forth in the agreement.

The agreement states that the housing units will be affordable and attainable for workers who earn between 20% and 250% of the average median income, ($21,510 to $189,750) and are employed by, or retired from a business or organization located in Routt County. Brown Ranch will follow the traditional rule that no more than 30% of one’s monthly income should be spent on housing costs.

Brown Ranch must be a primary residence. No second homes or short-term rentals will be allowed.

There will be 125 acres of open space, and 62.71 acres of community parks, neighborhood parks, pocket parks, greenways and trails within Brown Ranch. There will be an indoor sports facility with fields, a playground and a shade structure. Constructions of the parks, trails and open space with be phased with each neighborhood.

The majority of the fiscal gap can be addressed if the two community parks with a projected development cost of $52 million, about $1.3 million per acre are scaled back and developed as the STR funds become available.

Under the Agreement, YVHA has also committed to provide $1,203 per unit annually to the city’s general fund to cover on-going operational costs.

We as a community overwhelmingly passed the STR tax to fund affordable housing and again passed the ballot initiative to dedicate 75% of the STR tax to affordable and attainable housing at Brown Ranch, including infrastructure.

In turn, YVHA indicated they will prioritize use of their share of the 75% to fund the cost for the infrastructure projects that have communitywide benefits such as U.S. Highway 40, core trail improvements, the combined public safety building, and the city’s portion of the Brown Ranch community parks.

This is an unprecedented opportunity to provide the diverse housing that is needed in our community. Every day we delay taking action, we are losing the young people who are our future leaders, the families that keep our community vibrant and the local workforce that is vital for our economic health.

It is an honor to serve on City Council. I appreciate being able to state the reasons I, as an individual council person (not representing the full council), am confident the annexation agreement is sound and establishes a framework that balances the needs of our community.

Gail Garey is the president and District 1 representative on Steamboat Springs City Council.