Park County Commissioners continue to kick the can down the road on changes that will guide future development.
At a public hearing at the Cody Auditorium on Aug. 5, no decisions were made as officials want more time to review public comment.
The changes are partly a result of an updated land use plan the county adopted in January. The first phase updating the county’s Development Standards and Regulations (DSR) looks at administrative and formatting changes, while the second round will involve updates to the county’s official zoning map and other changes.
Commission Chairwoman Dossie Overfield says the first round of development standards and regulation changes were initially considered about six months ago.
“We had so much public input and public outcry that we backed up and we did not make a decision then. We took all of those comments back and we sat down with the county commission and the planning and zoning commission and staff, and we met about every two weeks for half a day and went over every comment and every section to see what it was we were looking at and what kind of positive and negative comments we'd received on it,” she said.
County officials say there are roughly 150 online comments on DSR 1. This week, about 10 people testified, a handful of which expressed frustration over the county’s process.
“ The current Logan Simpson website that is supposed to allow residents to get involved and provide comments on this proposal does not allow iPad users to insert comments,” said Jim Dougherty.
Dougherty also thanked Commissioner Lloyd Thiel for expressing concerns over the county’s process. Thiel signed a petition seeking to oust Park County Planning and Zoning Director Joy Hill. The petition, which has 305 signatures and has been circulating since April, claims the process for the first round of changes has been inefficient and questions the validity of the data collected.
Other commenters at the hearing Tuesday asked about why the county was making changes and questioned the cost and authority of the consultant. One resident said that more regulations could hinder the development of affordable housing.
Right now, commissioners are mostly looking at administrative changes that include updating definitions, formatting the document, and complying with federal and state standards. Commissioners plan to hold a meeting on Aug. 19 and potentially decide on the first round of updates.
The really contentious work will come next year, when Park County creates new zoning maps. They’ll need to balance growth, agricultural interests and property rights advocates.
