Subdivision woes

by Cat Urbigkit

Sublette County Commissioners Betty Fear and John Linn had a full agenda of planning and zoning issues to deal with Tuesday afternoon, and a packed house to hear the discussions.

One of the major draws to the meeting was the anticipated discussion of a proposed subdivision in the Cora area, with there being major concern for its density and its location near the cattle driveway.

Mark Eatinger of Rio Verde Engineering, representing the applicant, said that the application was withdrawn from the commission's agenda.

Eatinger said that although the applicant plans to reconsider its development proposal, he said he'd welcome some guidance or discussion from the commission on appropriate housing densities in various areas. He said while people express concern for providing enough affordable housing, when higher-density proposals arise, opposition arises as well.

Fear said she would like the commission, along with county P&Z commissioners, to sit down and discuss the issue, along with options for development that would address various concerns.

In other P&Z business, the commission frowned on Jim and Christine Meiring's request for a zone change for 40 acres to rural residential five-acre lots, to create a six-lot residential subdivision.

Concerns for housing density and irrigation issues were raised. The county planning and zoning commission had voted 5-1 in recommending that the application be denied in its present state. Several of the P&Z commissioners expressed their preference that the subdivision consist of 10-acre lots, not five-acre lots.

Linn and Fear listened to public comment, with opposition expressed by area property owners.

"This is a tough one," Linn said, noting that regulations require a minimum-sized lot of two acres, while the Meirings were proposing five-acre lots.

Linn said he'd rather see the application reworked, along with another Meiring subdivision proposal that was withdrawn from the agenda.

Fear said she'd rather see the home sites put on high ground, with more open space preserved. She pushed for a reconfiguration of the lots, perhaps into five lots instead of six.

Fear said that density wouldn't be such a big issue for her if the homes were located in a cluster out of wet areas.

"Nobody wants density," Fear said, but everyone is concerned about how the county is going to meet its future housing demands.

"I don't think I can go along with this right now," Fear said.

Linn and Fear rejected the application.

"We're flying by the seat of our pants sometimes," Fear said.

Jim Meiring said he'd like to sit down with the commission to discuss the future of the area, so that he could develop a proposal that the commission would approve of and that would meet his goals as well.

The commission approved the final plat for an Old Brazzill Ranch subdivision of 61 acres into nine residential lots.

The commission approved a rezone for 12-15 acres of the Guio ranch for a homesite for Tom Heydt. This is an isolated parcel of the ranch with no agricultural value, according to the application information.