The Park County Land Use Plan is going to get at least one more Planning and Zoning Commission meeting and one more public hearing before the commission certifies it and sends it on to the next steps toward adoption.

A public hearing on the adoption draft of the Park County Land Use Plan was held on the morning of Wednesday, May 24, at the special Planning and Zoning Commission meeting at the Park County Courthouse.

A number of issues were brought up amongst people during the public hearing and commissioners themselves, including how regulated land near Park County's cities, and in the likely path of future annexation efforts, should be.

The commission also discussed other parts of the plan at the special meeting held prior to the commission's regular monthly meeting. A number of people made comments during the public hearing, including Powell resident Kevin French, who urged the county to not add too many regulations in the rural areas that would limit what property owners can do.

Commissioner Brian Peters, who represents Cody/Powell rural, asked about the reasoning for the recommendation to rezone much of the prime agricultural land around Powell into an area requiring a minimum average lot size of 20 acres in all future subdivisions.

County Planning and Zoning Director Joy Hill said it was a way to bridge the gap between people who want larger lot minimums and people who want more flexibility with their private property.

“If it were just up to me I’d go with 35 acres with exemptions for subdivisions with sewer and water,” she said, adding, “Park County is trying really hard right now not to repeat the mistakes other counties have made. We’ve got to try something and we're trying to find the middle ground. We'll try something and we can revisit it five, 10 years, leave options open.”

After the shorter-than-expected public hearing, commissioners discussed and then voted to continue the public hearing in order to digest the information given. 

For more information, visit parkcounty-wy.gov/PlanParkCounty.