Green Mountain heads to commissioners

While the Planned Unit Development (PUD) for Green Mountain by Brush Creek Ranch (BCR) has faced much controversy, it successfully moved to the next stage of approval during a special meeting by Carbon County Planning Commission on July 26. The PUD will be sent to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCC) for review and potential approval.

The planning commission staff created a series of amendments for the PUD guide after the July 12 public hearing. Some amendments were minor changes to organization, however there were notable changes created in response to public comments.

The first major change was in regards to the helipad in the PUD guide. The amendment changed the purpose of the helipads from “emergency and guest access” to emergency access only”. In the previous meeting, concerns were raised with helicopter noise and transport.

Staff also created additions to the watershed protection section of the PUD. The proposed amendments would require BCR to submit a Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) within 180 days of the adoption of the PUD. “The water quality monitoring project will be ongoing” was listed in the amendment. The SAP would also be provided to the Town of Encampment, “as well as water quality monitoring information on an annual basis”. Finally, the Green Mountain development would have to comply with Section 1.5 of the WDEQ Stream and Lakeshore Best Management Practice Manual 2014 Update

The final notable amendment was a statement terminating the original covenant and zoning. The original plan created in 2001 for Green Mountain approved 285 buildings on the property.

A BCR response to the amendments was presented. The letter to the commission was dated July 25. The response presented possible changes to the amendments, and the reasoning behind those changes.

In the helipad section, BCR disagreed with the “emergencies only” use of the helipad. They instead suggested an amendment with a primary and secondary use. The primary use was listed for emergencies. The secondary use was listed for supplies and VIP guest transport. In the previous meeting, representatives stated the helipad would be used for emergencies only. During the special meeting, they backtracked, stating they wanted to be transparent. They stated it would be mainly used for emergencies, but there may be scenarios that they have to use the helipad for something else. An example that was provided during the meeting would be in an instance they had to shuttle a VIP such as the president of the United States into the area.

BCR raised issue with the SAP, stating in the letter the “deadline of 180 days is not realistic given the unknown schedule for any future improvements”. They also stated the language for water quality monitoring being ongoing was vague.

Continuing the watershed protection comments, the letter stated that reporting to the Town of Encampment would not be meaningful as the Town “does not have professional staff to utilize the information”. The Town is currently engaged with an engineer from North Fork Engineering.

The letter included amended text to the PUD guide that they felt would accomplish the same goals as the staff amendments.

During the public hearing section of the meeting, 13 people spoke to the commission. The comments reiterated many of the concerns stated in the previous meeting. Water quality and quantity was discussed heavily. The impact of the development on Encampment was the major concern.

“Brush Creek is allowed to build on their property, but at whose expense?” Encampment resident Ros Herring asked.

The commission discussed amendments to the PUD, taking into consideration staff and Brush Creek comments. Amendments were revised as discussed. BCR recommendations were passed in regards to the helipad. Changes to the watershed protection were made, with minor adjustments to language. “The water quality monitoring project will be ongoing,” was removed. The 180 days for the SAP was changed to instead be before the building permit is issued. A motion was made to recommend the BOCCC approve the PUD with the waivers and staff amendments. The motion passed unanimously.

The next Carbon County Planning & Zoning Commission meeting will be on September 13 at 10 a.m. in the County Courthouse in Rawlins. The Board of Carbon County Commissioners will have met at 9 a.m. on August 3 at the Carbon County Courthouse in Rawlins.