The Vision 2030 Report is now a web page, with all the sections and topic areas viewable online and with the ability to use search engines for specific topics.
Visit the Vision 2030 Report website at http://report.routtcountyvision2030.org/. This functionality should be of enormous benefit to non-profits applying for grants, for community plans, and for those interested in understanding the values and vision of our region.
Enjoy!
Imprinted upon us is a sense that we live in a special place that actually becomes part of our being. It is the essence of the legendary and fictitious “Yampa Valley Curse.” As a community, we share the responsibility to shape our future. Together, through shared values and differences of opinion, we create a vision for a cohesive community.
The heart and soul of our community is the reason people come here, put down roots and return. It is the driving force behind our community character.
By describing what we value, we learn what constitutes heart and soul – the unique features, resources, special places and core values that are interconnected and, if lost, would fundamentally diminish the quality of community and sense of well-being.
Vision 2030 is an innovative approach to decision making. This values-driven method identifies a community’s core values so incremental decisions can ultimately ensure the things that really matter are enhanced and retained for future generations.
Our community has said that heart and soul is a combination of friendly people, a clean and beautiful environment, good schools, manageable local governments, a diverse population, and an unmatched lifestyle of cultural, recreational and economic opportunities.
The past decade has revealed some widely-shared concerns. We’re worried about having enough affordable housing. We wonder if growth will threaten our open space, Western ranching and farming heritage, traffic and our friendly, supportive community character.
This Vision 2030 report carries on the work of the 1994 Vision 2020 document, using a similar collaborative process. Through Vision 2020, we learned the components of what is important to us – those values that constitute our heart and soul and are most important to nurture into the future. Vision 2030 expands on this premise to affirm our shared values and recommend actions to preserve them. It relies on citizen surveys and a series of community gatherings that brought together people from every part of the greater Yampa Valley neighborhood.
This report details the responses from each Routt County community and demonstrates that while there are some differences of opinion from one area of the county to another, there is surprising agreement about what is important and what needs to be done to protect the things we cherish about our home. Defining a community vision is only the first step; a vision must also incorporate a plan for action if we hope to achieve our goals.
All of the data in this report represent the community’s thoughts about the desired outcomes and recommended actions that might constitute such a plan. The Vision 2030 committee listened carefully, and this is what the citizens of Routt County said, listed in alphabetical order:
Affordable Housing – Survey respondents named affordable housing among the three most threatened needs of the county. We are convinced that a balanced economy, as well as a diverse, inclusive populace, requires accessible and attractive housing that will shelter the full-time residents who are the backbone of our community.
Agriculture & Open Space We place great value on our Western ranching and farming heritage, with its emphasis on abundant clean water, protection of wildlife habitat and corridors,
a sustainable, diverse economy, and the distinctive sense of place that goes with it.
Arts & Culture – We have a long tradition of appreciating accessible, affordable and high-quality arts and cultural opportunities for residents of all ages, and we encourage their continued success.
Economy - We rely on a healthy regional economy that must be diverse, sustainable and productive while at the same time enhancing our community’s character and providing realistic opportunities for sustainable employment.
Education - We place great importance on our schools, from pre-school through college, and we strive for a high-level, community-supported, innovative 21st century continuum of lifelong learning opportunities.
Government – Our local governments have reputations for being accessible, responsive and accountable. We insist on their being fiscally
responsible and service-oriented, and we support their efforts to create the infrastructure and services that will foster a strong economy and a safe, comfortable quality of life.
Heritage - Nothing defines our regional identity as well as our Western history and heritage. We choose a lifestyle that promotes the protection and continued use of our historic built environments, the living reminders of our rich past.
Planning – We understand that there will be growth, and that growth can be good, but we insist on paced and placed growth: growth that can be engineered and absorbed in such a way as to preserve and enhance the community’s character.
Recreation – Recreation is a celebrated aspect of life in our corner of Colorado. We treasure a recreational lifestyle that embraces all populations, ages, abilities and socio-economic backgrounds – one that goes hand-in-hand with our abiding love for the land.
Seniors - Our seniors – our institutional memory and guides – deserve a well-planned variety of housing options, accessible transportation,
and a wide range of ways for staying connected to the communities they helped create.
Sustainability – It is not enough for us to enjoy life here. We must find new avenues for keeping our heart and soul alive for future generations. That means healthy, clean air and water; respectful land-use practices; “green” building and living; and a lifestyle that leaves our neighborhood better than we found it.
Transportation – We are a vehicle-centered society, our roads, streets and parking lots are becoming increasingly crowded. We want our leaders to plan for a multi-modal, efficient, environmentally sound transportation system that will be sufficiently affordable and appealing that we might not need to use our cars quite so much.
Youth – It truly takes a village to raise a child and we want our villages to provide programs and facilities that are caring and supportive,
healthy and safe for our youth. That means encouraging affordable and accessible child care for working families, and providing a family-friendly environment in which our young people can thrive.
The Vision 2030 Report gives the details of what the community said about where we should be going and how we might get there. This Vision 2030 report is intended to be more than just a summary of the community’s opinions. It is meant to form the basis for a checklist for our progress in carrying out the plan to achieve the vision. In the end, we will all be the judges of how well we succeed.
The Vision 2030 Report of Recommendations is in the very final stages and we’re happy to give you a preview of the results from over 2 years of listening to the values and visions of Routt County residents.
To download the report (7MB), click
The Vision 2030 Executive Committee has presented the draft report to the Routt County Commissioners; Town Boards of Yampa; Oak Creek and Hayden; and to the Steamboat Springs City Council. The Vision 2030 Final Report was formally accepted by the City Council of Steamboat Springs and the Routt County Board of Commissioners at a joint meeting on Monday, June 22, 2009 in Centennial Hall at 5pm.
The Vision 2030 November 2008 Gatherings confirmed many of the Desired Outcomes and Recommendations developed from Vision 2030 Surveys and November 2007 Gatherings. See the attached pdf for a review of the polling slides: v2030gatheringresults
So what IS different about the Vision 2030 Gatherings happening all around Routt County in November 2008? Just about everything!
First, we’ll feed you. It’s always good to think on a full stomach.
Next, we’ll hear each person, individually. Silently, effectively and powerfully. How in the world do we do that? Keypad polling. Polling gives the often ‘silent majority’ a voice in that you can select your preferences, opinions and more, silently and anonymously on keypads that are similar to a phone handset. This eliminates the heated, confrontational, ‘for or against’ public forum where it often seems the loudest voice wins. Basically attendees are able to vote and bring forth preferences anonymously, yet results are recorded and broadcast instantly. It gives the ‘silent majority’ the ability to be heard!
Finally, you’ll help determine a common direction for our future. Vision 2030 has been listening to citizens throughout Routt County for over 18 months on what is valued most and what is important for our future. Of greatest concern was preservation of our community character, which we heard is valued for its western heritage, its family friendliness and its small town feel. We’ve heard that managing growth is important to our future too, from a sustainable economy to housing patterns to transportation perspectives. The November gatherings will seek to better understand what you mean by these and then determine which recommendations you believe best insure that these values are preserved for our future.
Meeting attendees will also be able to see – in 3D graphics – alternative growth patterns for our valley, and on which they can then ‘vote’ for their preferences. There has never been a meeting like this in our area, let alone the nation… combining visualization, polling and information while capturing attendees preferences, perspectives and priorities.
If you can give one evening for the future, we’d greatly appreciate it. We promise it to be fun, informative and engaging.
Vision 2030 will host community gatherings County-wide this November to validate the desired outcomes and recommendations for Vision 2030 and to explore ‘what if’ scenarios for the future. Mark your calendars and join us at the location nearest you! Call 970-846-1404 or email tammie@routtcountyvision2030.org for more information.
*Please note date change from those published in Interim Report to accommodate Steamboat Springs Council Council meeting schedule.
Click on this link desiredoutcomesactions to print the Vision 2030 DRAFT Desired Outcomes and Recommended Actions which we’ll preview at the Gatherings.
The Vision 2030 Interim Report is a preview of what the Vision 2030 Citizens’ Committee has been hearing for the past year. More than 1,500 people have participated so far through five community gatherings; surveys; and Vision 2020 review meetings. Click on the link below for the this report.
Interim Report – August 2008 (2MB file)
How do we nourish our sense of community amidst change? How do we ensure those things we treasure are part of this future? Vision 2030 intends to discover and describe the core values that define our region’s “heart and soul” attributes–those unique features, resources, special places, and characteristics that, if lost, would fundamentally diminish the quality of community and sense of well-being that brought citizens here in the first place.
The Vision 2030 video captures what some of our friends and neighbors around the County are thinking about this Valley we call home. What do you think?
Share your thoughts on our DISCUSSION FORUM ! It’s Our Valley, Our Future, Our Vision–Be a part of it!
NEWS ARTICLES
City – Big Box, Big Dollars (9/7/08)
Vision 2030 report: Community valued (8/24/08)
Routt County Speaks! (The Local Feb 08)
Valley’s Future Discussed (11/8/07)
Our View: Another Way to Create Change (11/7/07)
A Real Town Era (9/16/07)
The Heart and Soul is In Our Hands (7/8/07)
Vision 2030 Names Project Manager (4/26/07)
Seeing Clearly–City, County Officials Assess Vision for Yampa Valley in 2020 (8/30/06)