The formerly maintained soccer fields on the western edge of the Heritage Park neighborhood are off the chopping block now that the developer has reverted to a housing plan previously approved by Routt County in 2011.

Ty Lockhart of Steamboat Springs, who developed the Heritage Park neighborhood, had submitted a housing plan in 2022 to Routt County for a Heritage Village project that would have included 26 housing lots west of Steamboat Montessori and eliminated the soccer fields.

However, Routt County Commissioners denied initial plans for the Heritage Village in August 2022.

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Routt County Planner III Alan Goldich explained that the planned unit development agreement for the original Heritage Park neighborhood several miles west of Steamboat requires 25% open space, which the soccer fields largely fulfill.

Lockhart said he hopes an entity will enter an agreement with him to maintain the two full-sized soccer fields for active use, and noted that he provides water rights to the existing irrigation system at the fields. Lockhart previously had a 20-year lease with Steamboat Springs for $1 a year that expired in spring 2019, and he noted that he currently is talking with the city Parks and Recreation Department about the fields.

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Lockhart has kicked off work to install connector roads, water, sewer and utility infrastructure, as well as a soft-surface trail parallel to U.S. Highway 40 for the new seven residential lots that fill out the Heritage Park neighborhood. The construction will add four single-family homes to the west and three duplex buildings to the east on either side of Brandon Circle that connects to the highway. The homes are just north of Steamboat Montessori school building.

Goldich said the ground where the townhomes will be built has been raised and drainage rerouted to the edge of the property. Short connector streets on the south side of the homes are being constructed so the entrance to the homes will not directly abut to the busy Brandon Circle.

Because construction of the 10 new homes, or duplexes, was approved in 2011, no additional notices were required to be sent to neighbors before the current work began, officials said.

The intersection of U.S. 40 and Brandon Circle on the south side and the Steamboat II neighborhood on the north is already a safety concern for neighbors and drivers, and has been the location of multiple traffic incidents and crashes in recent years. The intersection also can back up traffic in several directions, especially during the morning highway commute and school drop-off times.

Goldich said a traffic study was conducted in approximately 2000 for the intersection, noting “existing traffic studies show that traffic levels were acceptable to CDOT.”

The Colorado Department of Transportation reviewed the development plan in 2011 when the 10 new units were approved. The CDOT referral response stated: “I have no comments since the access to Heritage Park subdivision follows the Access Control Plan for this area. No new access would be considered for this property.”

Goldich said the county staff report at the time stated: “The proposal will not increase traffic by more than 20%; therefore, a new CDOT access permit for U.S. 40 is not required.”

According to CDOT standards, if a proposed use increases traffic by 20% or more, a new study must be conducted, Goldich explained.

“Based on what I was able to find in the file, it appears that what was proposed in 2011 did not increase traffic beyond 20% of the original study that was done around 2000,” Goldich said. “The study done in 2000 took into account full build-out of the neighborhood, all of the uses at the school and regular use of the soccer fields.”

In addition, the smaller open space area directly east of Steamboat Montessori was deeded by Lockhart to the Steamboat II Metropolitan District last summer. The field is largely used for play areas for the school children.