Slate Creek/Brown Ranch

As described in City of Steamboat Springs Housing Strategy and Action Plan, the Brown Ranch property is an unprecedented opportunity to meet the community’s need for affordable and attainable housing. The Brown Ranch Community Solutions project is not intended to create a new Brown Ranch plan or annexation agreement, but rather it is meant to identify key strategies and approaches that can shape a successful development project and associated annexation.

History

In 2021, with a $24 million anonymous donation, the Yampa Valley Housing Authority (YVHA) purchased 534 acres at Brown Ranch. YVHA hosted hundreds of meetings with community members and technical experts to create the Brown Ranch Community Development Plan (2022). The Brown Ranch Annexation Committee (BRAC) was formed in 2023 to negotiate the terms of an annexation of approximately 420 acres of land on the western border of current city limits. In March 2024, Steamboat Springs voters rejected the annexation in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Annexation Agreement.

The Brown Ranch Community Solutions project was launched in August 2024 and endeavors to put deliberation, dialogue, and transparency at the center of the community dialogue and altering traditional decision-making structures by asking the community to openly discuss opposing views as a way to identify workable solutions.

Reports from previous phases of the project can be found under the Documents heading – Situation Assessment and Phase 1 Summary Assessment.

Where We Are Now - Transitioning to Phase 2

In late February 2026, leadership from the City of Steamboat Springs, Routt County, and YVHA met to begin defining a new joint governance structure for Brown Ranch. Facilitated by Civic Canopy with support from Community Builders, the group focused on how the three entities would work together, make decisions by consensus, and restructure the previous steering committee to reflect a more collaborative and transparent approach to moving the project forward.

The group will continue to meet over the coming months to provide direction on community engagement, to define the end state needed to submit a proposal for annexation, and to catalogue constraints and opportunities to annexation and future development of the Brown Ranch property. In consultation with the community, the group will also develop an Annexation Roadmap for Brown Ranch, including a clear set of components for a Brown Ranch Plan and annexation proposal.