Three Alternative Options for Growth

Background Info: History of Hayden

• Hayden was the original County Seat of Routt County


• End of railroad


• Hospital--Solandt Memorial


• Regional airport


• Power plant


• Slow to moderate growth 1885 to 1960


• 55% growth increase from 1970 to 1980 coinciding with power plant construction

Background Info: Growth in Hayden

• Hayden: -19% loss


• Steamboat: 30% gain


• County-wide: 5% gain

• Hayden from 1,444 to 1,634: 13% gain


• Steamboat from 6,695 to 10,116: 51% gain


• County-wide from 14,088 to 19,991: 42% gain

Background Info: Town of Hayden's Strengths

• Town has potential for growth –land available for development


• Proximity to jobs


• Attractive quality of life – small town character


• Affordable Housing


• Quality School system


• Traffic volume on Highway 40 as a potential commercial market


• Airport as commercial market


• High quality recreation opportunities (bird watching, National forest)

Background Info: Town of Hayden's Weaknesses

• Commercial/Residential out of balance


• Limited Shopping/Restaurants


• Bedroom Community


• Traffic volume on US 40 nearing capacity


• Limited Tax Base


• Aging infrastructure (sewer, drainage)


• Limited transit alternatives

Background Info: Existing Conditions & Changes

• Growth in urbanized areas of the County


• Second home / resort accommodations drives up prices of housing


• Demand for moderate priced housing increases to satisfy the housing needs of the service workers attracted to jobs in a resort community


• As demand and prices increases, availability of developable land is reduced forcing affordable housing to lower cost land


• Routt County Master Plan protects agricultural character of the County further reducing the available land for moderate priced housing


• County objective to focus on balanced growth further reduces the available land for moderate priced housing


• Retail development has occurred in adjacent communities as a result of slow growth over last 25 years


• Hayden has retained traditional town character with access to big town amenities


• Limited local employment coupled with convenient access to services/retail at employment location
  results in sales tax revenue leakage

• Hayden: $9,224


• Routt County: $21,627

• Because of slow population growth, the cost of providing services by the Town has remained relatively stable


• The ability to provide municipal services at the existing level is dependent on sales tax revenues from:


1. Airport


2. Traffic on US 40


3. Energy impact grants


• As Hayden grows, the amount of revenue from the airport and energy impact funds will either remain the same or decrease.

Planning Forum Community Goals Analysis

• Maintain a friendly small community of neighborhoods where people recognize each other, share a sense of community and "family type" relationship.


• Create a community where people choose to live and work


• Create a community that grows from the inside out


• Retain the "working family" character of the town


• Strengthen the Town's identity by clearly defining the Town's boundaries


• Maintain and improve visual quality of town


• Define the extent of the Town with agicultural lands


• Retain the agricultural heritage of the Town


• Retain the scale of the Town


• Retain the community heritage of close ties between generations


• Expand public participation to a broader community including the local Hispanic community


• Create a community that is not congested and pedestrian safe resulting in reduced car dependency within Town


• Centralize services to support a sense of community


• Balance the affordability of new homes with design character


• Retain affordable housing and lower cost of living


• Mitigate the impact on the cost of living as a result of proximity to Steamboat resort


• Retain small schools that result in small classes , quality education and personal attention


• Retain the character of the Yampa river, public land and opennspace


• Protect wildlife and their habitat from impacts resulting from growth

• Create a critical mass of population in Town to attain more self sufficiency


• Create a commercial core that takes advantage of the Town central location and the existing volume of people using the airport and Hyw. 40


• Create a tax base which is a balance of residential and commercial uses


• Reduce sales tax leakage resulting from the proximity to Craig and Steamboat retail opportunities


• Reduce job leakage keep more people in Town and reduce traffic volumes on US 40


• Take advantage of the easy availability of land

Definition of Compact/Balanced Growth

• Efficient use of land


• Reduced infrastructure cost


• Connected network of narrow, tree lined streets


• Pedestrian access to services


• Improved access to employment, shopping, and other services


• Mixture of housing types


• Development of a town center


• Civic building located at prominent site


• Increased use of mass transportation


• Preservation of rural landscape

Definition of Suburban Development

• Inefficient development pattern for public services/facilities


• Loss of agricultural land


• Lower land values and amenities because of conflicting land uses


• Unbalanced fiscal impacts


• No distinct town center


• Dependence on the automobile


• Branching development pattern of wide streets


• Limited construction of attached or multifamily housing


• Housing types separated resulting in segregation of economic classes

Definition of Comprehensive Planning

• Road map for future of Town


• General guide to decision makers


• Long term issues of character, growth are stated in the Comp Plan and followed by decision-makers when approving development


• First step in identifying appropriate land uses – test relationship of proposed land uses to the long term goals committed to in the Comprehensive Plan.


• When land use decisions are only considered on the short term or without a thorough examination of the long term impacts on a community and there is little consistency in land use decisions the results are generally detrimental to the community


• Broad decision making


• Zoning is general in nature and related to geography


• Development Regulation

COMP PLAN ALTERNATIVE #1: BALANCED COMPACT GROWTH

• Land west of Town, adjacent to Yampa River


• Historically Town located in flat terrain adjacent to Yampa


• Focused in areas with easy access commercial, schools, community services, etc.


• Continued growth at slow pace (10 to 15 homes/year)

• East end of town, adjacent to airport


• Access to US 40


• Access to Rail (Potential for use of rail spur)


• Proximity to regional airport


• Land available/lower land costs


• Create local job opportunities


• Market Hayden to potential employers

• Central, compact location


• Allows for parking once and shopping at multiple retail locations


• Provides meeting place for the community


• Allows for easy access to municipal service


• Provide for central location to attract recreation users

• Retain municipal services at current level with minor declines in the future


• Increase ales tax revenues captured in commercial area by attracting increased pass thru and recreation traffic


• Increased property tax revenue by increasing light industrial uses


• Increase sales tax revenue captured from local residents

COMP PLAN ALTERNATIVE #2: MEDIUM GROWTH

• West of Town, adjacent to Yampa River




• Historically Town located in flat terrain adjacent to Yampa


• Focused in areas with easy access to commercial, schools, community services, etc.


• Annex additional area into Town to accommodate suburban type development


• Moderate growth pace (40 to 45 homes per year)


• Significant portion of new residents commute to work outside of Hayden

• Annex land east of town (residential hazard zone adjacent to the airport)




• Access to US 40


• Access to Rail (Potential for use of rail spur)


• Proximity to regional airport


• Land available/lower land costs


• Create local job opportunities


• Market Hayden to potential employers


• Allow limited employment generating non-residential uses outside of designated commercial core

• Central, compact location


• Allows for parking once and shopping at multiple retail locations


• Provides meeting place for the community


• Allows for easy access to municipal service


• Provide for central location to attract recreation users

• Retain municipal services at current level with minor declines in the future


• Increase sales tax revenues captured in commercial area by attracting increased pass thru and recreation traffic


• Increased property tax revenue by increasing light industrial uses


• Increase sales tax revenue captured from local residents


• Identify ways to increase Town revenue to offset increase costs of services or reduce services


• As population increases the potential impact to the community increases as the existing revenues from the Airport and Energy Impact funds are divided between greater populations.

COMP PLAN ALTERNATIVE #3: RAPID GROWTH

• Annex sufficient land to handle addition of 6,000 single family homes


• Rapid growth pace of approximately 300 homes per year (45% per year)


• Majority of new residents commute to work outside of Hayden

• Annex land to accommodate new regional shopping


• Regional shopping competes with existing commercial in Town


• Local commercial transitions to specialty shopping

• Reduce current level of municipal services with possibly significant declines in future


• Increase sales tax revenues by attracting local and regional shoppers (may not occur until population is approximately 10,000)


• Increased property tax revenue by increasing non-residential uses (after 11 years of growth)


• Identify additional sources of revenue


• As population increases the potential impact to the community increases as the existing revenues from the Airport and Energy Impact funds are divided between greater populations.

August 26, 2004 Meeting Outcomes

Related Links:
Steamboat Today article on 8/26/04 Meeting
Community Forum on Hayden Growth

Documents/Forms:
Comprehensive Plan presentation