22,980 People, One Vision

Routt County Vision 2030 issues final recommendations based on broad public engagement

For Immediate Release

Routt County, CO — Imagine a place with clean water, abundant wildlife, working ranches stretching to the horizon, and with citizens committed to sustaining those resources. Imagine a place with a balanced economy and enough accessible, attractive housing to shelter the residents who form the backbone of the community, with quality arts and culture, recreation and schools. Imagine a place with a government that is responsive and accountable, that listens to its youth and seniors, its old-timers and newcomers, its farmers and artists and workers and teachers. Imagine a place where every decision enhances the values and attributes that citizens value most—the community’s heart and soul.

V2030FinalReportCover.jpg
A word cloud featured on the Final Report
cover reflects Vision 2030’s collaborative
effort to define Routt County’s future.

Sound too good to be true? Meet Routt County, Colorado—in the year 2030, that is—as envisioned by its citizens today.

Routt County Vision 2030, an ambitious, citizen-driven initiative working with the Orton Family Foundation recently released its Final Report that ties together a two-year process and feedback from more than 1,600 residents. Guided by a 30-member Citizens’ Committee and with support from the City of Steamboat Springs and Routt County, Vision 2030 engaged residents in discussions of what makes Colorado’s Yampa Valley special, what worries them, and what they want for the region’s future.

Routt County’s long-term vision sounds idyllic, but the Vision 2030 process emerged from very real issues and aspirations. Residents saw working ranches converted to “ranchettes,” housing stock grew by 29 percent between 1990 and 2000, and seemingly unchecked growth threatened the County’s unique sense of place. “We’re worried about having enough affordable housing,” reads a summary of citizens’ concerns in the Final Report. “We wonder if growth will threaten our open space, Western ranching and farming heritage...and our friendly, supportive community character.”

Rather than bemoan the pace of growth and change, Routt County citizens took action. They created a process that would examine shared values and acknowledge differences of opinion, engage a diverse cross-section of the community, use innovative tools and processes to examine trade-offs and growth scenarios, and develop a set of concrete recommendations to guide County decision-making in the future.

“Routt County has taken control of its destiny by creatively reaching out to its residents, listening to what they value about their place, and then crafting recommendations rooted in these values that will guide the future of development and growth,” said Bill Roper, Orton Family Foundation President and CEO. “Other counties should take notice of this citizen-led, proactive effort.”

V2030FinalReport_DORAs_nocap_251x246.jpg
Focus groups drafted Desired Outcomes
and Recommended Actions (DORAs) for
13 interconnected categories identified
as important through survey responses
and public meetings.

Over the course of two years, Vision 2030 volunteers recorded audio and video clips of citizens, conducted surveys, utilized keypad polling and held a series of community gatherings to identify common values, which they grouped into four main categories: natural and cultural resources, quality of life, economy, and government and infrastructure. Twelve focus groups involving more than 60 community members distilled the public feedback into the Desired Outcomes and Recommended Actions (DORAs) published in the report. Committee members also identified timelines for implementation and interest groups that might champion the actions.

The Final Report was mailed to every household in Routt County and distributed through the Post Office and Laundromats. The City Council of Steamboat Springs, the Routt County Board of Commissioners, and the Towns of Hayden, Yampa and Oak Creek have all officially accepted the Report.

Vision 2030 volunteers know that their job is just beginning; ahead lies 20 years of hard work that will turn Routt County’s vision into reality. Perhaps the most important recommendation in the Report is the formation of a Citizens’ Stewardship Committee and action groups, which will be accountable for progress. The Citizens’ Committee also laid out a stringent guideline for County officials. “Each and every proposed policy and decision should be weighed against its impact and potential consequences to our community character—our heart and soul,” the Final Report reads. “If the net result is a diminishment of this core asset, we should question the wisdom of adopting or applying.”

Will Routt County’s unique Western character and community ties remain strong in 2030? Will it have managed to grow in ways that enhance its environment, economy and culture? Will it be worth the time and effort of countless volunteers and citizens?

Marsha Daughenbaugh, Vision 2030 Co-Chair, thinks so: “My biggest hope is that we are able to pass this wonderful life on to our children and their heirs in a way that will make them proud of us.” 
 

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READ MORE ABOUT ROUTT COUNTY VISION 2030 >>

The Orton Family Foundation, based in Middlebury, Vermont, and Denver, Colorado, seeks to help small cities and towns discover and describe their heart and soul—the collective attributes that make communities unique—and build on those attributes in planning toward a vibrant, enduring future.

For More Information Contact:
John Barstow, Director of Communications
Orton Family Foundation
PO Box 111 (152 Maple St., Suite 101)
Middlebury, VT 05753
802.388.6336
communications@orton.org
www.orton.org