ThesitefortheRitaValentineParksitsinthenorthwesternpartofSteamboatSprings.

TogetherwiththeadjacentM&HPropertysite,it
offersanopportunitytoenhancetheavailabilityofbothopenspaceanddevelopedrecreationinthisactiveandoutdoororiented
community.

TheRitaValentinepropertywasgiftedtotheCityofSteamboatSpringsonJanuary15,1985.Ithasbeenopenandavailablesincetothe
publicasaninformalandundevelopedpark.Thesitecovers40acresandabutsthe35acreM&Hpropertytoprovideacombinedtractof
75acreswithinthedevelopedpartofSteamboatSprings.SteamboatSpringscurrentlyhas29developedparkstotaling410acresofland.

RitaValentineConceptualDesign
1

StatisticallyValidSurveyResults
Inthesurvey,87%oftherespondentssaidthattheyhaveusedcityparksatleastonceinthepastyear,withanaveragefrequencyof21.3
visitsperyear.Onlytrailsrankedhigherinusageat93%.Eightpercent(8%)useotherparks,openspace,andrecreationservices,with
theaveragefrequencybeing4.0visitsperyear.ThishighlightstheimportanceofparksandopenspacetotheresidentsofSteamboat
Springs.Cityparksalsorankedhighinimportance,with91%ofrespondentsrankingthemveryimportant,againsecondonlytotrails
whichrankedfirstwith93%ofrespondentsratingthemveryimportant.Atthesametime,88%ofrespondentssaidthatcityparksare
meetingtheneedsofthecommunity.Ingeneral,thesurveyindicatesthatcityparksarehighlyimportanttoresidentsandthattheir
needsforcityparksarebeingmet.

Whenaskedwhatfacilitiesneedtobeadded,expanded,orimproved,openspaceandnaturalareasrankedfirst,with84%of
respondentsratingtheseveryimportant.Otheritemsthatwereratedveryimportantbyatleast50%ofrespondentsincluded
unpavedtrails(77%),pavedrecreationtrails(62%),dogpark(57%),additionalriveraccess(54%)communitygatheringspace/outdoor
eventfacility(53%),riverfeatures,andpicnicshelters(50%).

SurveyrespondentswerealsoaskedtoprioritizeamongsixoptionswhicharemostimportanttodevelopintheSteamboatarea.The
highestprioritywasgiventodevelopmoreparks/openspaceareasinnewresidentialareas,andthesecondprioritywastoimprove
existingparks.ItislikelythatsomepeoplemightconsiderRitaValentineanexistingparkwhileothersmightnotconsiderittobea
parkatall.
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Asforwhattypeofparkspeopleprefer,91%stronglyagreedwiththestatementIwouldlikeamixtureofparksthatincorporatesboth
nativeandmanicuredparktypes.Seventyfivepercent(75%)stronglyagreedwiththestatementIpreferparksthataremorenatural
withverylittlemanicuredgrasswhile67%stronglyagreedwithIpreferparksthataremanicuredandhavegrassinallopenareas.
Respondentscouldagreewithbothstatementsanddidnothavetochooseonestatementortheother.

Respondentsalsowanttohaveparksandactiverecreationopportunitiesclosetohome,asevidencedbyagreementwiththestatements
Ivaluehavingactiverecreationopportunitiesintheparksnearmyhome(81%)anditisimportanttometohaveaparkwithinwalking
distanceofmyhome(80%).Respondentswereevenlysplitonwhethertheyvaluehavinglargeparkswithavarietyofactivitiesmore
thansmallneighborhoodparkswithfeweractivities(50%).

Thesurveyresults,whileinformative,donotclearlypointtoaparticularcourseofactionfortheRitaValentinesite.Ontheonehand,
thereisclearsupportforopenspaceandnaturalareas.Ontheother,peoplealsowantparkswithactiverecreationopportunitiesclose
tohome.Thesplitbetweenparksthataremanicuredandthosewithverylittlemanicuredgrassindicatesthatthereisadesiretohave
bothtypesofparksavailableinSteamboatSprings.Thefactthat88%ofrespondentsfeelthatthecurrentparksaremeetingthe
communitysneedsindicatesthatthereisnotcurrentlyapressingneedtoaddadditionaldevelopedparkacreage.However,asthecity
grows,additionaldevelopedparklandwillbeneededifcurrentlevelsofservicearetobemaintained.

Allofthisindicatesthat,asSteamboatSpringsonlymajorundevelopedpubliclandinthispartofthecity,theRitaValentineandM&H
Propertysitesneedtoserveacomplexblendofpublicneedsanddesiresnowandinthefuture.
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3
MasterPlanRecommendations
TheParksandRecreationMasterPlanoutlinesaseriesofgoalsandstrategiesfortheparksandrecreationsystem.TheRitaValentine
sitemayplayaroleinsomeofthese.Forexample,GoalSixistoStrengthenRecreationalOpportunities.PartofStrategy6.1istofillin
programminggapssuchas(nonsport)adultactivities.TheRitaValentinesitemayofferopportunitiestoprovidenonsportadult
activitiessuchaswalkingandrunningforfitness,natureobservation,andrecreatingwithdogsoffleash.GoalNineistoPlanand
ImplementCapitalImprovements.Strategy9.3callsforpreparingnewmasterplansforkeyparksandfacilitiesinaphasedapproach
overseveralyears,andrepurposingsomeparks.Italsosaystoprovidedogparkinexistingparkfortheshortterm,planforlongterm
location.Asexplainedbelow,theRitaValentinesitecouldbesuitableforeitherorboththeshortandlongtermprovisionofanoff
leashdogarea.Strategy9.4includesIDopportunitiestoincreaseLOS,developundevelopedparksites.TheRitaValentinesiteoffers
suchpossibilities.OverallLOScanbeincreasedcitywideandwithintheneighborhoodbyprovidingnewrecreationopportunitiesatthe
site.

PublicWorkshop
Tosolicitfurtherinputonthefutureofthissite,apublicworkshopwasconductedonOctober8
th
2008.Morethan20peopleattended
theworkshop.AtleasthalfofthosepresentrespondedbyraisingtheirhandswhenaskediftheycanseetheRitaValentinesitefrom
theirhome.Thisindicatesthattherewasstrongrepresentationfromtheadjacentneighborhoodatthisworkshop,eventhoughitwas
heldonthenorthwestsideofthecity,whichisoutsideoftheneighborhood.Thefactthattherewascorrespondinglysmall
representationfrombeyondtheneighborhoodfitswiththesurveyfindingthatmostpeopleinSteamboatSpringsfeelthatcurrentparks
aremeetingtheneedsofthecommunity,sothereisnomajorpushtodevelopmoreparksrightnow.

Participantsoftheworkshopexpressedstrongsupportforaprotectingthenaturalqualityandopenspacefeelofthesite,particularlythe
M&HProperty.Theyshowedaninterestinconnectingthisopenspacetotherestofthecommunitybyprovidingvehicleaccessand
parkinglotsonboththenorthandsouthperimetersofthesite,andbyprovidingtrailsthroughthesiteandconnectingthesetoother
trailsinthecommunitywherepossible.Otherusessuggestedfromtheworkshopincludedtrails,naturalplantings,artandsculpture,disc
golf,andaskatepark.

Therewassignificantinterestandsupportforincorporatingoffleashdoguseintothesite.Inthepublicsurveyconductedearlier,adog
parkwasrankedasoneofthetopoutdoorrecreationfacilitiesneededinSteamboatSprings.

Becauseofthemakeupofitsattendees,theworkshopshouldnotbeconsideredtorepresentthedesiresandexpectationsofthegeneral
citizenryofSteamboatSprings.Butgiventheturnoutandenthusiasticparticipationofthosewhowerethere,itlikelyprovidesareliable
indicatoroftheneighborhoodsvisionforthesite.Thisvisionappearstobeaplacewhereopportunitiesforactiveandpassiverecreation
canbeofferedtoalloftheresidentsofSteamboatSprings,butwheretheemphasisisonanaturalizedappearanceratherthana
traditionalparksetting.
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RitaValentine
ConceptandVision

TheSite
TheRitaValentineandM&HProperty
togetherprovideanopportunitytomeet
manyofthecurrentandfutureneedsfor
SteamboatSpringsidentifiedthroughthe
ParksandRecreationMasterPlanand
otherplanningprocesses.
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ExistingConditions
TheRitaValentineandM&Hproperties
haverollingterrainwithnativegrassand
plants.Residencesbackontothe
propertiesandsocialtrailswind
throughout.
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OpenSpace&ParkDesignation
Aconceptualdesignoftheparkispresented
herewithshort,mid,andlongtermactions.
Theshorttermplancouldbeginin2010and
continuethroughtheyear2014.Itincludes
clarificationoftheboundarylinesand
intendedfunctionsbetweenRitaValentine
ParkandtheM&HProperty.TheM&H
Propertywouldbecomedesignatedopen
space,whiletheRitaValentinesitewould
retainitsdesignationasapark.
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BufferAreas
Abufferareawouldbedesignatedaround
theparksitetoprovideseparationanda
transitionfromsurroundinghomesandto
enhancethenaturalaspectsofthesite.
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BuffersExamplesofNeighbors
Thismayincludeadditionalnaturalized
plantingsoftreesandshrubsthatwouldalso
providewildlifehabitatsimilartotheyardsof
neighboringyards.
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BuffersTreeStands
Thismayincludeadditionalnaturalized
plantingsoftreesandshrubsthatwould
alsoprovidewildlifehabitatsimilartothe
yardsofneighboringyards.
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Trails
Theshorttermplanalsoincludesproviding
trailswithinthesitewithextensionsintothe
openspaceoftheM&HProperty.Thetrails
wouldalsoconnecttosurroundingstreets.
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ParkingandVehicularAccess
Themidrangeplan,runningfrom2014until
2019,wouldseetheadditionofvehicle
accessintothesite,withparkinglotsanda
connectingroad.Adiskgolfcoursecould
alsobeaddedatthisstage.Thediscgolf
coursewouldretainthenaturalized
landscapeofthesite.
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TrailDevelopment
Traildevelopmentduringapproximatelythe
year2015wouldconnectthenewparking
anddiskgolfareastoeachotherandtherest
ofthesite.
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DogPark
In2016partofthesitecouldbecomeadog
park.
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DevelopedPark
Theyear2017wouldbringanopenturf
areaandpicnicfacilities.
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PlaygroundDevelopment
In2018,adestinationplaygroundadjacent
totheparkingareaandturfareawouldbe
added
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SkatePark&ClimbingWall
Alsoin2018,askateparkandclimbingwall
wouldbeaddedandfillintheareanorthof
theplayground.
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IndoorFacility
Inthelongrangeplan,beginningtenyears
fromnow,indoorfacilitiescouldbeadded
tothesite,suchasanindoorpool,field
house,and/oryouthandteenactivity
spaces.
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Conclusion
Thisisonlyaconceptandnotablueprintfor
thesite.Specificplanswouldhavetobe
drawnupforeachstage,andthiswouldoccur
throughapublicprocess.Fundingwouldalso
needtobeallocatedbeforeeachstagecould
proceed.Itislikelythattheconceptwill
evolveovertimeastheprocesscontinues.
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NextSteps
CurrentM&H
PropertyTrails
ThenextstagesofdevelopmentforRitaValentinePark
willcontinuethroughpublicprocessandinclude
SchematicDesign,DesignDevelopment,and
ConstructionDocuments.Atthetimeofthismaster
plan,consensuswasbuiltforimprovementsthat
emphasizenativeplantingandvegetation,softsurface
trails,andpassiverecreation.Thedesignelements
shownonthispagereflectthesevaluesandarethe
mostimmediateimprovementsthatcouldoccurduring
thefirstphaseofRitaValentinedevelopment.59of
the75acres(78%)sharedbetweentheM&Hproperty
andtheRitaValentinepropertyareretainedasnatural
andpassivefeaturesinthisdesign.Thedirectionof
anddesiresforfutureparkfeaturesintheremaining
undeveloped16acresofthesitewillevolveovertime
throughcontinuedpublicprocessinfuturephases.
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