Home

One of the larger landowners in the area included in the West Steamboat Springs Area Plan is not sure the updated draft gives her enough incentive to develop.

Mary Brown, who, with her husband, owns property in the east-central portion of the plan, spoke up during the city Planning Commission's meeting Thursday night.

During the meeting, city and county planning staff introduced the updated draft of the West Steamboat Springs Area Plan to commissioners.

Brown said the property that she and her husband own has been subject to the plan since its 1999 adoption and that they have yet to see enough incentives to develop.

Brown said she appreciates the work that officials are putting into the update and that she looks forward to seeing the results. However, she said, her understanding is that she is expected to come up with a plan for officials to review. That type of planning costs money that she is not willing to spend, she said. Brown said she has spent thousands of dollars working with plans for the property.

The draft update is meant to be more flexible and allow developers more creativity. Originally, the plan designated specific locations for certain land uses. The update allows developers to decide what types of housing and commercial spaces will go where.

Curtis said he didn't understand what would happen if no developer wants to build the village center.

Eastman said there has to be a way to make the village center and other development projects come to fruition.

"It has to happen; we need to figure out a way to make it happen without compromising the flexibility of the plan. That's challenging," Eastman said.