Scott Mangold

In voting to approve a set of changes to Park County’s Development Standards and Regulations on Tuesday, Commissioner Scott Mangold explained that he wants to “keep the wolves at the gate.”

“We don’t have the guns anymore to fight people that are trying to change Park County,” Mangold said. “These are outside interests with good lawyers, good judges, lots more money than we have, and we’ve heard from our county attorney, they can’t fight these people.”

“So if we have a regulation that’s in place that our county can go in and say, ‘These are regulations,’ that’s going to keep the wolves at the gate,” he said, with the regulations bolstering the county’s case.

“So the people who say, ‘Well why are you doing it?’ We almost have to,” Mangold said.

He made the declaration just hours after being reminded of a new cell tower that — despite the commission’s attempts to block it — is being built in the Wapiti Valley. The developer took the county to federal court after being denied a permit and won, clearing the way for construction to begin. 

On Tuesday, a majority of commissioners agreed it was time to finally pass phase one of the revised regulations. The changes passed 3-1, with Commissioner Lloyd Thiel opposed, and will go into effect Oct. 1. Any planning and zoning requests made prior to that date will be addressed under the previous rules. 

As Commission Chair Dossie Overfield has repeatedly reiterated, the first round of amendments mainly includes administrative changes, language changes and updates to align with state and federal law. 

Big alterations, such as zoning changes, will be part of the second phase of regulations.

Thiel said many of his concerns can still be addressed in phase two, but that he was “very disappointed” with phase one.

“I was hoping we could streamline, make it easier for the public,” Thiel said of the regulatory process, “… but we consistently took our administrative staff and our consultants’ concerns over the public. We didn’t shorten the process.”

Other commissioners disagreed.

“The consultant recommended that we make the variance language even more tight, almost impossible to get one. And we did not agree with that, we left it more open so that people could get variances,” said Commissioner Kelly Simone. “So I … disagree that we listened to the consultant’s advice [more]. At least for me, I feel like we’ve tried to take both into consideration.”

Commissioner Scott Steward seconded those comments, noting that in lengthening the time they’ve discussed phase one, the public has been given plenty of opportunity to address their issues. 

There’s still a lot to be dealt with in Park County’s Development Standards and Regulations (DSR). 

During the lengthy discussion of phase one, commissioners got a taste of some of the discussions that could be a big deal in the next phase of regulations.

Commissioners addressed all of the well over 100 comments that were submitted, one-by-one, in regards to phase one. They agreed that many of the comments — including a significant number of suggestions from Park County Engineer Brian Edwards — will be addressed in the second phase of the process. 

Commissioners did briefly dive into some comments that apply to the second round, such as what happens when an owner’s land use such as a business, previously approved, is rezoned into an area where the use is not allowed. 

While those are currently grandfathered in, Thiel questioned why a change as small as replacing a septic system could cause a business owner to have their business declared nonconforming. That will be addressed in the second phase. 

The vote closes yet another chapter in a years-long process to first create a new land use plan for Park County, and then adjust regulations to align with its priorities. 

An initial public hearing in January on the first phase of revisions resulted in pushback and criticisms from a packed crowd at the Cody Library’s Grizzly Room. Park County commissioners then held a second public hearing in front of around 30 people in the Cody Auditorium in early August before finally approving the changes on Tuesday.

As for the second phase of revisions, county consultants are just finishing compiling survey results from early rounds of public input on zoning and land use changes. That data will be publicized again before more public input sessions begin.

“Our discussions are going to be a lot heavier,” Overfield said.