Home

Steamboat Springs — The Routt County Planning Commission made short work of Xcel Energy's requested changes to a planned rail spur to Hayden Station and unanimously approved a plan that will allow longer trains to deliver coal to the power plant.

The spur, which Xcel plans to start work on this year, will leave the Union Pacific main line and travel through a portion of the Nature Conservancy-owned Carpenter Ranch, crossing U.S. Highway 40, as well as Routt County Road 27.

The rail spur was a controversial subject in 2007, when the county ultimately approved a special-use permit that allowed as many as five trains a week consisting of about 70 cars each. Union Pacific since has told Xcel it will allow only full-unit trains of 115 cars each.

Mary Brown, representing Xcel Energy, said at Thursday's Planning Commission meeting that initial plans included an at-grade crossing at C.R. 27, and Xcel proposed 70-car trains to limit the amount of time they would block the road. Since the county ultimately required Xcel to construct a separated-grade crossing, Brown said the increased train lengths would have little impact. She also said fewer train trips would be required since the trains are shorter.

"The total number of cars at the end of the day would stay the same," Brown said.

The Planning Commission also approved other minor amendments. One will reduce the number of wildlife underpasses Xcel will be required to construct from four to three. The underpasses were required to allow for the safe passage of wildlife through the rail spur's retaining wall. Since 2007, Xcel has purchased the Garcia property. Now that it no longer has to work within the confines of its right of way on that parcel, Brown said Xcel now has room to build an earthen berm, rather than a retaining wall, that wildlife will be able to cross at any point.

The Routt County Board of Commissioners still must approve amendments to the special-use permit.

Also Thursday, in a 5-2 vote, Planning Commission approved a conceptual proposal from Ty Lockhart to convert a 1.89 parcel in Heritage Park designated for use as an athletic field into three duplex lots and a 0.4-acre open space parcel. The parcel in question is between U.S. 40 and Brandon Circle near the entrance to the subdivision.

In arguing for the change, Lockhart wrote in a letter that he sees no demand for additional athletic fields in the subdivision.

Two Heritage Park residents wrote letters opposing the change, saying the open space is valued and asking the county to stick to the provisions of Heritage Park's approved development plan. Planning Commissioners Sandi Gibson and Donna Hellyer agreed and were the dissenting votes. Other commissioners, however, pointed out that the parcel is dedicated for athletic fields, not open space, and noted that Heritage Park residents rejected the city of Steamboat Springs plans in 2005 to construct additional athletic fields in the subdivision.

Planning Commission also met with major stakeholders in the Stagecoach area in South Routt County to discuss issues to be addressed in the county's update this year of the Stagecoach Community Plan.