A three-to-two vote Tuesday night gave Matera Ridge developers approval to build more than 600-homes in Steamboat Hills. 

Ed Lapalousa is an opponent who lives nearby. He says the project would hurt local wildlife.  

“The property is surrounded on three sides by over 2,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service land. A new road will have to cut across this Forest Service land. This will interfere with Mule Deer migration.” 

But Matera Ridge developers say the more than 600-acre project is sensibly designed to protect the natural environment.

The plan approved by county commissioners also allows several acres of commercial land along the scenic Mount Rose Highway…near the forest edge.