The Park County commissioners are asking people to do their own research and reach out to them for clarification on land use regulation questions in the wake of a flyer circulated around Powell that they say is highly inaccurate. 

The flyer, which is from Concerned Citizens of Park County (the similar sounding Concerned Park County Citizens recently formed a petition to oust the county planning and zoning director) claims the new county development standards and regulations will lead to more red tape and restrictions on private property. 

“It’s important when these flyers circulate we consider the source,” Commissioner Kelly Simone said. “This flyer is from an anonymous source and has a lot of what I would consider inaccurate information, saying, ‘expect more red tape, get ready to be delayed and charged outrageous fees, less freedom, more government control’ … It’s kind of inflammatory.

“I would just encourage people to reach out to us directly, and as we move forward, we’ll continue to communicate.”

Commissioner Scott Steward seconded Simone’s concerns, noting that he’s gotten calls from people saying their property should be in a certain zone, not realizing their property is already slated to be in said zone. Steward also said it should be the commissioners defending the regulations process as opposed to Park County Planning Director Joy Hill, who has taken a lot of heat from certain people throughout the land use plan and regulations process, to the point where she’s written a letter to the editor (see here) explaining her role and its limitations.

“My stance is she’s defending herself, and for some of the things she shouldn’t be defending,” Steward said. “And I think as a governing body, it’s up to us to also clarify that.”

The process to amend the county’s development standards and regulations has led to a lot of concern amongst mainly property owners around the county concerned new regulations will add restrictions as to what they can do with their property. 

As the flyer declares prominently, “Stop the land grab! Protect rural landowners in Park County!” It also claims the new regulations threaten property rights and landowners are not being directly contacted for input. 

Commissioner Scott Mangold said he’s received calls from new residents to Powell who said they moved to Wyoming to not have to deal with any regulations, and seeing this process has them angry. 

“But yes, we’ve had [regulations] since the 70s,” he said, adding, “I think simplifying this for the public is one of the advantages of having the new regulations come in and make it more user friendly. But people, they get worked up. The government’s coming after them, and we’re the government.”

The claims are similar to many expressed by some county residents who have been writing letters to the editor, especially since a draft zoning map based on early feedback from public meetings was released. 

That map, which was not developed with any commissioners input, will soon be revised as the consultants, commissioners, planning and zoning members and the technical working group, composed of community members with various expertise, sifts through the recent feedback based on the initial map. 

Commissioner Lloyd Thiel said commissioners should be careful not to dismiss public comment, that they have asked for, just because they don’t agree with it. 

Chair Dossie Overfield said the specific issues are helpful pieces of feedback, and she is happy to clarify with someone unsure of a zoning area. 

“But they are wrong to say this is a land grab, that the county is after more permit fees, those types of things,” she said. “None of that is true. And I think that needs to be said, because they’re sensationalizing what we’re doing.”

As the largest amount of concerns have come from the Powell area, Overfield will be on Mangold’s radio station, KPOW, at roughly 7:50 a.m. Friday to answer questions about the regulations process. 

The county is also working on a social media post that could include a Q&A about the process.