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Brynn Grey is back in Steamboat talking about annexation

Tom Ross
  

A rendering from Brynn Grey shows a potential residential development in West Steamboat Springs.
Courtesy/Brynn Grey Partners

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Steamboat Springs City Council has a significant date in its lengthy courtship with housing developer Brynn Grey on May 22, and the Routt County Board of Commissioners didn’t hesitate Tuesday, during a joint meeting with city leaders, to put a little pressure on their counterparts from city government to close the deal.

“We drafted a letter to you in December 2015 about how, in 15 years, the West of Steamboat Plan hasn’t created any housing,” Commissioner Cari Hermacinski said. “We need some more housing units near Steamboat. There are people who want to live in Hayden, Stagecoach and Oak Creek. If this project doesn’t come to fruition, we hope you drag that letter out.”

“We have the letter; it was re-sent to us this week,” City Councilwoman Heather Sloop responded.



The letter proposed that if nothing were to happen in West Steamboat, the county would pursue building more subdivisions like the existing Silver Spur and Steamboat II in that area of the county.

“I hope this project works,” Hermacinski responded.



“‘We’re making our best effort,” Council President Jason Lacy said. “We’ve had what – 18 meetings now?

Brynn Grey is the successful developer of community housing neighborhoods in Summit County, including the Wellington and Peak One projects

City Council will sit down with Brynn Grey representatives next week in a work session — no vote will be taken — to review a draft of an annexation agreement that represents a significant step toward ultimately acquiring a development permit in order to begin breaking ground and building the first of the 450 homes anticipated in a 20-year buildout of the development just beyond the current western boundaries of the city.

“The goal is to move through this annexation agreement as quickly as possible and move toward approval this summer to allow them to begin development next year,” City Planning Director Tyler Gibbs said.

However, an annexation agreement is not the same thing as a development permit, which would allow Brynn Grey to move forward with the development, Gibbs explained.

“Annexation really means OK, now this land is within the city and governed by the city’s rules,” he said. “You have to zone,” the land “when you annex, so you know, here are the types of things that can be built within different types of land.” 

Beyond the annexation agreement, the developers would have to seek a development permit requiring them to engage engineers to design the streets, water and sewer infrastructure, energy and gas lines, storm water drainage and all of the things that make a subdivision a subdivision, Gibbs added.

City Council has not yet decided if it will take the annexation agreement to the voters in the November election, but even if it does, Gibbs believes there is time for the developers to acquire a development permit and begin moving dirt on the site by the summer of 2019.

Gibbs confirmed city staff members met with Brynn Grey representatives on May 15 and would do so again May 16 to go over many of the details of the annexation agreement.

To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205, email tross@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @ThomasSRoss1.


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