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Growth spurs change in city planning

Out the door, in the door and up the ladder.

Mike Lawrence
Senior city planner Suzanne Bott stands Friday in front of plans for
Matt Stensland

— Out the door, in the door and up the ladder.

The Steamboat Springs Planning Department will undergo several changes later this month. Senior planner Suzanne Bott, who for more than a year has had a leadership role in planning redevelopment at the base of Steamboat Ski Area, is leaving Colorado for a job in international development that will take her to the Middle East. Routt County Senior Planner John Eastman will leave his county office and take Bott’s place as a senior planner for the city. City planner Jonathan Spence will be promoted to senior planner, and a new planner will be hired to fill Spence’s current role.

“There’s really a lot of things converging that impact city planning,” said Deputy City Manager Wendy DuBord, citing increased development in Steamboat Springs.



City planning staff members recently have reviewed several large-scale development projects for downtown sites, including Howelsen Place, Alpenglow and The Olympian. Reviewed projects at the base area include Wildhorse Meadows and One Steamboat Place. In coming weeks, city staff will review plans for the Victoria project at the corner of 10th Street and Lincoln Avenue and Sundance North Village on Anglers Drive, along with a revised plan for the new Steamboat Springs Community Center.

“We don’t see an end in sight to the level of project review,” City Planning Director Tom Leeson said.



Bott, 49, said her last day of work is Dec. 22. She has worked in city planning for 25 years and came to Steamboat in January 2005 as a consultant hired to draft the base area redevelopment plan. The city hired her as a planner in September 2005.

“For a city planner to write a plan and then be able to implement it is a pretty rare thing,” Bott said. “This has been one of the highlights of my career.”

Her new career will involve post-conflict reconstruction work for a North Carolina-based contractor hired by the United States Agency of International Development.

“We’re very disappointed to see Suzanne move on, but wish her all the best,” Leeson said. “She was a great addition to our planning staff and instrumental in the URA process.”

Eastman has worked in Routt County planning for more than seven years, taking on projects including the West of Steamboat Springs Area Plan in 1999 and 2006, transportation aspects of the Steamboat Springs Area Community Plan Update in 2004, and numerous open space projects.

“John brings a lot of good experience with him,” Leeson said.


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