Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Directions for the Steamboat Springs Area Community Plan Update will be discussed twice today.

At noon, the Steamboat Springs and Routt County planning commissions will resume their discussion of hired consultants' recommendations for the plan. Also, the Steamboat Springs City Council and Routt County commissioners will review the directions at a 4:30 p.m. meeting.

During a two-hour June meeting, the planning commissions had to extend their talks after only making it halfway through the discussion points. At today's meeting, the planning commissions will look at more controversial recommendations including growth rate, alternative transportation routes around Lincoln Avenue and preservation of community corridors and gateways.

Today will be the first time the council and commissioners have discussed the recommendations. Their meeting precedes a public hearing on a multijurisdictional housing authority.

The directions have come after community working groups labored for more than a year addressing key issues of the plan. The directions were also based on findings from a community-wide questionnaire asking residents to weigh in on issues involving everything from land management to historic preservation to capital facilities.

After the boards' input, the consultants, Clarion and Associates, will work on a draft of the plan, expected to be released in August.

Although the planning commissions took longer to work through the recommendations, city planner Tom Leeson said the two-hour allotment for the council and commissioners should be sufficient.

"They are going to be a lot more focused looking at the big issues of transit and land use and not going into as much detail as the planning commission," he said.

Both meetings should have time for public comment, Leeson said.

Discussion is sure to arise with directions that recommend the community manage its growth rate, enhance summer and winter airport use and have aggressive affordable housing policies.

The consultant's directions ask the community to consider managing its growth by establishing a maximum annual rate, which could be controlled through permit allocations or a phasing system.

The directions also suggest a multi-prong approach to solving traffic congestion on Lincoln Avenue.

Policies lean toward building the Yampa or Howelsen Bypass as growth continues and supporting transit and alternative transportation.

A dedicated funding source for open space and environmental preservation also are among the directions as is building a stable and sustainable funding source for capital projects.

Under economic development, directions promote diversifying the economy while supporting tourism and creating design standards for big box retail stores.