Routt County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to table the preliminary subdivision application for the proposed Tailwaters Development in Stagecoach until March 25, citing a need for more information on wildlife habitat mitigation and commercial elements of the design.

Commission Chair Sonja Macys also requested more information about ongoing negotiations between the Morrison Creek Water District and the developer — Tailwaters at Stagecoach, LLC — regarding a potential land exchange for expanding water and sewage infrastructure, as well as options to further reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in the treated wastewater from the water district. 

Under the current application, the developer seeks to subdivide about 40 acres of an 89-acre Stagecoach parcel into 89 single-family lots, 33 duplex lots and 40 multi-family units. 

---

---

There are also plans for approximately 10,000 square feet of commercial space located on four acres of the property, which could include a restaurant, grocery store, office and retail space, and live/work units.

The design includes a network of trails, fitness stations, playgrounds and 38 acres of open space. 

---

---

The applicant requested a waiver on the requirement for sidewalks, but that was denied. Sidewalks on one side of the road were included in the design presented Tuesday.

The application was submitted prior to the board’s June 2024 adoption of the Unified Development Code, and therefore does not have to meet newer requirements to include a percentage of affordable housing.

“The application has not claimed to be affordable as no such affordable housing restrictions have been placed on them,” said Routt County Senior Planner Alan Goldich.

Wildlife

Because the project is located in Stagecoach within what is defined as a “high priority habitat” for Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, some type of wildlife mitigation action is required.  

While the applicant expressed preference for a real estate transfer tax — a proposal worked on in conjunction with Colorado Parks and Wildlife — county staff recommended instead a contribution to the Yampa Valley Community Foundation.

Macys strongly rejected both. “Permanent protection of habitat is an option that can be achieved,” she said, adding that the county needs to create acceptable standards now so as not to be in the same position when reviewing future development applications.  

Commissioner Angelica Salinas said she was also uncomfortable with the idea of simply saying, “Hey, here is a high priority habitat — but here’s some money.” 

Commissioner Tim Redmond suggested working more with Parks and Wildlife and other state agencies on a better mitigation plan. 

Public input 

Of the nine in-person or virtual public comments made during the meeting and the seven comments submitted in writing, no comments supported the development.

Concerns from the public centered around density, water quality, construction impacts and traffic. Many suggested the design and size was more appropriate for an urban or suburban setting. 

“We live in a remote rural natural environment and this proposed subdivision does not match the aesthetics and natural open space feel that makes Stagecoach beautiful and unique. Vehicle traffic, light pollution, noise pollution, water pollution and fire hazards are all a recipe for disaster,” wrote Stagecoach resident Lisa Nutkin.

Water quality concerns were cited in the majority of the comments related to potential impacts to Little Morrison Creek and Stagecoach Reservoir.  

While the conditions for approval include rigorous requirements for surface and groundwater quality monitoring, multiple people argued more science was needed and warned that once construction on the subdivision is underway, it would be too late to mitigate additional nutrient-loading in the reservoir. 

“The water quality study is completely insufficient and does not take into account the potential impacts of this project,” said Stagecoach resident Eric Podurgiel. “Let’s take some time and understand what the impacts truly are going to be.”

Asked by Macys about ways to further reduce nitrogen and phosphorus from treated wastewater, Morrison Creek Water District General Manager Giovanni Romero said he was doing everything he could without increasing costs and “going tertiary.” 

He also noted that while levels of those nutrients are currently in compliance, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will be making standards more stringent in the near future, “especially for impaired bodies of water such as Stagecoach.”

Road improvements

Much of the debate during the meeting concerned “Condition 22,” which requires the developer to pay $7.8 million upfront as a percentage-based contribution to road improvements — a condition on which the board ultimately did not budge.

Identifying needed improvements along segments of County Road 14 and a number of intersections, the $7.8 million figure was calculated based on the developer paying 15.9% of the cost of seven different road improvement projects totaling close to $50 million. 

Presenting on behalf of the developers, Tim McGuire of Minturn-based Contour Design Collective called the condition “a huge burden,” and in the past had said it made the project “infeasible.”  

Dueling traffic impact studies were hashed out during the meeting — one commissioned by the county through Hales Engineering, and one commissioned by the developer through Fox Tuttle Transportation Group.

McGuire said the county’s study was flawed, and that the Fox Tuttle study showed existing roadways could support the capacity not only of Tailwaters but additional development in the area.

While the county’s study projected 4,129 daily one-way trips into the new subdivision, the developers’ study calculated 2,226 daily trips. 

They also debated trips to the commercial area and the difference between coding the store as a “convenience store” at 2,668 daily trips versus a “supermarket” at 312 daily trips. 

Consultants from both traffic study teams spoke at the meeting, defending their data and methodology.

Asked about safety, Scott  Kilgore of Fox Tuttle said the study addressed capacity, not safety. But Redmond and Routt County Public Works Director Mike Mordi stressed the need to better address increasing road safety concerns throughout the valley, especially in light of recent growth.

On Jan. 29, Attorney Melinda Sherman of Sharp, Sherman & Engle sent a letter to the board, calling Condition 22 “unacceptable” and saying the county’s study “overexaggerates many of the calculations.” The developer is unfairly — and illegally —  being asked “to offset impacts that are attributable to existing deficiencies and other developments,” the letter states. 

Representing the law firm during the meeting, Holly Strablisky told the board “it is illegal for existing problems to be put on the back of new development,” before citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion. 

Strablisky took particular issue with planned improvements on the stretch of CR 14 from Stagecoach State Park to Colorado Highway 131. 

McGuire noted the developer had already committed over $2 million in planned improvements to the intersection of CR 16 and CR 18A, as well as straightening sharp curves near to the intersection.

Mordi emphasized the need to consider “cumulative impacts of development,” but also the provision that if that future development does not occur — namely the proposed Stagecoach Mountain Ranch private resort and Laudelet subdivision — then a portion of the money would be refunded to the Tailwaters developer.

“We are in agreement on Condition 22,” Salinas said at the end of the meeting, as the board was asked to clarify whether it would be revisited. “We believe the money needs to be paid upfront, in escrow, and we support staff’s recommendation of $7.8 million.”