Todd Stowell

After more than a decade on the job — and after a year that saw him fall under intense public scrutiny — Cody’s city planner is moving on.

Todd Stowell submitted his resignation Tuesday morning and plans to leave the city post in early April.

Stowell publicly announced his departure at the end of Tuesday’s planning and zoning board meeting, making a point of saying that his decision was “totally voluntary.”

“… let it be clearly known that I have not been asked to resign, either directly or indirectly. Neither is my resignation due to the current litigation surrounding the Cody Wyoming temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Stowell wrote in his letter of resignation. “I simply desire to serve others in a different opportunity and focus more on my family.”

Stowell has served as Cody’s planner since January 2012 and added the role of community development director in 2018, leading the city’s building, GIS and planning divisions. He helped put together Cody’s current Master Plan a decade ago and has reviewed plenty of significant and controversial developments over the years. But nothing matched the pressure of the past year, as the LDS church’s plans to build a temple have made their way through the city’s planning process and the court system.

The temple is set to be constructed west of the Olive Glenn Golf Course, but a number of neighbors contend that the 9,950 square foot building and its 101-foot-high tower don’t fit in that area. Hundreds of residents submitted public comments and attended a series of contentious Planning and Zoning board meetings last year to express their support or opposition to the plans.

In conjunction with other staff, Stowell concluded that the temple complied with the city’s regulations, deciding the tower was exempt from the zoning area’s 30-foot height restriction. When the board rejected that interpretation at its first public meeting on the project, Stowell doubled down and argued the board members had actually accepted his determination in an earlier motion.

It led to tension between some board members and the planner. In one summer email, which surfaced through a public records request from neighbors opposed to the temple, frustrated Board Chair Carson Rowley wrote that he didn’t trust Stowell “at all.”

Stowell is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and although City Attorney Scott Kolpitcke concluded that didn’t constitute a conflict of interest, the attorney’s opinion didn’t prevent accusations of bias. Another summer email obtained by the neighbor group shows the city council’s liaison to the planning board, Councilman Andy Quick, complained that Stowell was “too close to the project to be able to objectively address it.”

The board ultimately approved the temple, but the neighbor group, Preserve Our Cody Neighborhoods, is challenging the decisions. They’re arguing in part that Stowell’s height interpretation was wrong and that he tainted the process.

The city contends that the board’s decision was supported by substantial evidence and that it followed the law. Attorneys for the church have said there’s no evidence of any misconduct.

Stowell alluded to the controversy in his resignation letter, writing that “the media and others have taken the opportunity to report and speculate on several things that I have done, or said, or allegedly said.” Because of that, Stowell said he wanted to make clear that his departure was voluntary and unrelated to the pending litigation.

Stowell added that his time as planner was rewarding and that he’s grateful to have had the opportunity to serve the people of Cody.

“As a whole they are genuine, hard-working, caring, selfless and willing to contribute to their community,” he wrote. “Those that know me know that I share these common values and that I have done my best to always treat others with kindness.”

While the litigation continues in Park County District Court, Cody’s Planning and Zoning board moved on from the controversy months ago. At Tuesday’s meeting, for example, they debated and ultimately approved a business’ plan to display and sell pre-manufactured sheds on a lot along Big Horn Avenue.

Stowell’s announcement about his resignation came in the final minute of the more-than-hour-long meeting.

Shortly before adjourning, Rowley said he appreciated Stowell serving in the planning role over the past 12 years — “and I appreciate your help to this board and the three-and-a-half years we’ve gotten to spend together.”

To give the city time to find a new planner, and to minimize disruptions to the city and developers, Stowell said he plans to continue working until April 5.

He closed his letter to City Administrator Barry Cook by offering his “best wishes in your efforts to promote quality development and friendly attitudes so that Cody will continue to be inviting to visitors and residents alike.”