Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — About a dozen first- and second-year graduate students have been challenged his students to explore the concept of "New Ruralism" by designing a housing development in rural Routt County.

The group met Feb. 15 in a conference room at Colorado Mountain College's Alpine Campus, where the challenge was issued by Keith Loftin, assistant professor in the College of Architecture and Planning at the University of Denver.

Loftin got the idea after being contacted by Rob Dick, director of the local Regional Affordable Living Foundation.

"We want to come up with a new land-use pattern for rural America," Dick said. "Many people are afraid of sprawl to the point that some want no growth at all.

"Instead, we want development that is designed with taste, and a sense of the environment and a sense of community."

The graduate students are entering the design world at a time of transition, when the rural environment is growing less agricultural and more suburban, he said.

In Loftin's description for his class on "New Ruralism," he defines the problem:

"The single word 'sprawl' has come to epitomize everything bad about development: the vast areas of farm- and pastureland consumed, the concomitant destruction of the existing landscape character, the interminable commute, and ultimately, the resulting dreary environment of mind-numbing sameness.

"Typical suburban development is currently being challenged by 'New Urbanism,' which tries to densify development by returning to older town models for inspiration. New Urbanism is an excellent alternative to standard suburban development in many places, but not in all, and particularly not in the open, ranching landscape that characterizes the land around the famous Colorado town of Steamboat Springs. The question is -- what kind of development would be appropriate in such a landscape?"

The students have been shown a 630-acre piece of land eight miles from Clark in the Elk River Valley. They have 10 weeks to design a multihome development for that piece of land using the concepts of New Ruralism.

On Feb. 15, students shared the CMC conference room with local planners, developers and land preservation proponents eager to provide their opinions and hear the concepts currently in circulation at the academic level.

The discussion on Saturday, as well as the discussion amongst New Ruralism theorists, was aimed at answering the question, "What kind of community are we creating here in the West?"

"I don't know what the answer is," Loftin said. "New Ruralism, as a concept, hopes to develop land in order to preserve it."

Much like Routt County's concept of land preservation subdivisions (LPS), developments following the New Ruralism concept mimic existing land-use patterns. For example, groups of houses are organized to look like ranch compounds.

"The economics of agriculture doesn't work very well in this area anymore," real estate agent Troy Brookshire said. "This kind of development creates the perception of agriculture."

Houses are spaced closer together, instead of being spread across 35-acre lots, to save energy, cut infrastructure costs and leave the surrounding space open.

"The graduate students have never done anything like this before, but few people have," Loftin said.

The students will have to keep several considerations in mind when planning this remote housing development.

The chosen area is located off a dirt road that is not maintained in the winter. It will cost $175,000 to bring electricity to the site, Dick said.

Dick wants to buy the property and divide it with three other land users.

He asked the students to consider including community buildings and space housing in such a way that 500 acres of land is preserved. Under Routt County planning codes, the 630-acre parcel could support 17 homes plus adjoining caretaker units. However, if the development preserves 500 acres of land, the county's LPS regulations would allow the developers to build one additional home for each 100 acres preserved, adding five more homes.

The builders will need to construct a mile of road to reach the development, Dick said.

Caryn Fox, director of the Routt County Planning Department, attended Saturday's meeting.

She told the students that they could push the boundaries of county planning code as long as they could make a case for their ideas.

"We are in the process of updating the codes," Fox said. "The Planning Commission is willing to examine the LPS process."

As attendees debated the logistics of infrastructure to the remote parcel of land, the discussion moved to an examination of how the development fit into the "larger picture."

"Who are we housing out there and what is their relationship to the world?" Steamboat Springs Assistant Planning Director Tim McHarg asked. "What are they doing out there? Are they working?"

"The rural areas should not become enclaves of the rich," McHarg added. "This should be the starting point of the discussion."

"This is the point of the students being here," Loftin said. "They can develop some great designs, but they must also respond to the economic realities."

The students will meet in teams for the next 10 weeks to develop a proposal for the pattern of development of the Clark-area land.

They will then return to Steamboat to present their results to anyone interested, Dick said.

The date, time and place will be announced at a later date.

The group met Feb. 15 in a conference room at Colorado Mountain College's Alpine Campus, where the challenge was issued by Keith Loftin, assistant professor in the College of Architecture and Planning at the University of Denver.

Loftin got the idea after being contacted by Rob Dick, director of the local Regional Affordable Living Foundation.

"We want to come up with a new land-use pattern for rural America," Dick said. "Many people are afraid of sprawl to the point that some want no growth at all.

"Instead, we want development that is designed with taste, and a sense of the environment and a sense of community."

The graduate students are entering the design world at a time of transition, when the rural environment is growing less agricultural and more suburban, he said.

In Loftin's description for his class on "New Ruralism," he defines the problem:

"The single word 'sprawl' has come to epitomize everything bad about development: the vast areas of farm- and pastureland consumed, the concomitant destruction of the existing landscape character, the interminable commute, and ultimately, the resulting dreary environment of mind-numbing sameness.

"Typical suburban development is currently being challenged by 'New Urbanism,' which tries to densify development by returning to older town models for inspiration. New Urbanism is an excellent alternative to standard suburban development in many places, but not in all, and particularly not in the open, ranching landscape that characterizes the land around the famous Colorado town of Steamboat Springs. The question is -- what kind of development would be appropriate in such a landscape?"

The students have been shown a 630-acre piece of land eight miles from Clark in the Elk River Valley. They have 10 weeks to design a multihome development for that piece of land using the concepts of New Ruralism.

On Feb. 15, students shared the CMC conference room with local planners, developers and land preservation proponents eager to provide their opinions and hear the concepts currently in circulation at the academic level.

The discussion on Saturday, as well as the discussion amongst New Ruralism theorists, was aimed at answering the question, "What kind of community are we creating here in the West?"

"I don't know what the answer is," Loftin said. "New Ruralism, as a concept, hopes to develop land in order to preserve it."

Much like Routt County's concept of land preservation subdivisions (LPS), developments following the New Ruralism concept mimic existing land-use patterns. For example, groups of houses are organized to look like ranch compounds.

"The economics of agriculture doesn't work very well in this area anymore," real estate agent Troy Brookshire said. "This kind of development creates the perception of agriculture."

Houses are spaced closer together, instead of being spread across 35-acre lots, to save energy, cut infrastructure costs and leave the surrounding space open.

"The graduate students have never done anything like this before, but few people have," Loftin said.

The students will have to keep several considerations in mind when planning this remote housing development.

The chosen area is located off a dirt road that is not maintained in the winter. It will cost $175,000 to bring electricity to the site, Dick said.

Dick wants to buy the property and divide it with three other land users.

He asked the students to consider including community buildings and space housing in such a way that 500 acres of land is preserved. Under Routt County planning codes, the 630-acre parcel could support 17 homes plus adjoining caretaker units. However, if the development preserves 500 acres of land, the county's LPS regulations would allow the developers to build one additional home for each 100 acres preserved, adding five more homes.

The builders will need to construct a mile of road to reach the development, Dick said.

Caryn Fox, director of the Routt County Planning Department, attended Saturday's meeting.

She told the students that they could push the boundaries of county planning code as long as they could make a case for their ideas.

"We are in the process of updating the codes," Fox said. "The Planning Commission is willing to examine the LPS process."

As attendees debated the logistics of infrastructure to the remote parcel of land, the discussion moved to an examination of how the development fit into the "larger picture."

"Who are we housing out there and what is their relationship to the world?" Steamboat Springs Assistant Planning Director Tim McHarg asked. "What are they doing out there? Are they working?"

"The rural areas should not become enclaves of the rich," McHarg added. "This should be the starting point of the discussion."

"This is the point of the students being here," Loftin said. "They can develop some great designs, but they must also respond to the economic realities."

The students will meet in teams for the next 10 weeks to develop a proposal for the pattern of development of the Clark-area land.

They will then return to Steamboat to present their results to anyone interested, Dick said.

The date, time and place will be announced at a later date.