Dear editor:

In the June 5, 2025, edition of the Powell Tribune is a quote from Park County Commission Chair Dossie Overfield that should be clarified by someone who has experience with the county in this regard and that person is me. The quote is: “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.”

It’s true it’s not a true land grab, but if you think you own your land, think again. It’s your land if you don’t want to sell it and you’re satisfied paying taxes indefinitely. The minute you want to sell your land it comes under county control, every move forward is dictated. The landowner is then asking, but it’s really begging permission. Not only that, expect months of delays and tens of thousands of dollars until you get the “approval.”

I owned roughly 110 acres and had a buyer for 10. I’m in a GR-5 zone, meaning 5 acres minimum is allowed. One would think splitting off 10 acres shouldn’t even involve the county much. Well, think again. I was told it’s breaking off of 35 acres, so it’s a simple subdivision. Does that make any sense? It sure didn’t make sense to me. 

Because it was deemed a simple subdivision, I had to adhere to 43 findings to be considered for a final decision in my favor. The crazy hoops I had to jump through! There was the requirement to survey the entire 110 acres, not 10, the soil test no one could justify, the test of my own personal well water (What? Why?), a title search going back to the homesteader, the call to the bus barn to see if kids would be picked up for school. It just kept going. I even had to contact private suppliers of garbage, internet, power, etc.

It took me over six months and well over $10,000 to get permission to sell my 10 acres. It’s a land grab when you realize you don’t own your land, the county does. It’s astronomically costly because of the endless requirements. So maybe Dossie can say it’s not true in a literal sense, but it sure is true in the way it all plays out.

It used to be buyer beware. It would have been between the two of us about easements, title searches, water rights, etc. The rest of it would have been the buyer’s problem, not mine. I now suspect the county is rewriting the regulations to fit what they’re already making people do to sell land. I think the stranglehold on selling land isn’t legal and they need to make it that way. That’s what I suspect! 

Sincerely,

Phil Campbell

Powell