CASPER, Wyo. — The City of Casper has heard some interest in recent years from at least one developer seeking large space for industrial business applications, City Manager Carter Napier told the City Council on Tuesday.
While Casper has a lot of available commercial real estate, there is a lack of larger parcels zoned to accommodate industrial applications. One possible area to accommodate this is city-owned property near the Ford Wyoming Center. As that property is currently zoned as Park Historic, zoning changes would be needed to allow industrial or other development.
With private groups working toward building a new indoor sports facility near the Ford Wyoming Center, the City Council on Tuesday discussed how the city can be strategic in making zoning decisions in the greater area to allow certain types of development.
A main question about the strategy: Should the area be developed more with an eye toward welcoming industrial business applications or more toward commercial development such as hotels and restaurants?
On the commercial development side of the argument, Napier said that he has been able to sit in on some meetings regarding the indoor sports facility that is being developed and that there is some feeling that things like hotels and restaurants could “follow very quickly on the heels of that.”
On the flipside, limiting industrial applications in the area in order to make it more appealing to things like hotels could make it difficult for Casper to attract new industrial businesses that need large parcels of land, some on the City Council like Vice Mayor Steve Freel and Councilmember Bruce Knell said.
Staff have prepared a rezoning proposal for some of the property the city owns near the Ford Wyoming Center that would allow for both industrial and commercial business development. That proposal has been approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission and was initially presented to the City Council in January. However, the City Council decided to table decisions on that staff proposal to create a North Platte River Park No. 2 subdivision until a study exploring possible renovations of the Ford Wyoming Center was complete.
While the city has no immediate plans to invest in what would be a ~$113.8 million expansion of the Ford Wyoming Center, the recent completion of the study that generated that cost estimate prompted staff to bring back up the re-zoning questions for the proposed North Platte River Park No. 2 subdivision on Tuesday. The area and proposed new zoning is shown in the following map:
The staff proposal would involve replatting and rezoning some of the 1,095 acres the city acquired in the 1970s to create a new 185-acre subdivision near the Ford Wyoming Center. The city’s rezoning proposal would carve out three new lots. One of those lots would be where the Ford Wyoming Center is located. That lot would remain zoned as Park Historic. The reason it is included in the proposal is to create a clean legal description for lease purposes, with the proposed indoor sports facility to be built in that area.
Staff’s proposal would be to zone the other two lots for mixed industrial and commercial applications. One lot would be zoned as M-1, with the other lot proposed to be zoned as M-2. A major difference between the two zoning classifications is M-2 allows for industrial applications that involve explosives, Community Development Director Liz Becher told the City Council.
The lot that would be zoned as M-1 would be the lot closer to the Ford Wyoming Center under staff’s proposal. Becher said staff’s plan in recommending M-1 and M-2 zoning for the lots was intentional to try and accommodate industrial applications given interest the city heard from a developer last year. She noted that the M-1 and M-2 zoning would allow for the development of hotels and restaurants.
The City Council also has the ability to create covenants setting architecture, landscaping and signage standards for the area, something the city did in the nearby North Platte River Park No. 1, which is home to:
- Central Wyoming Counseling Center
- Gruner Brothers Brewery
- Medical offices
- Building supply companies
- A church
- A hotel
Becher said the city could also look into doing a master plan for the greater area as it did in other areas like the Old Yellowstone District to help guide strategic decisions about longer-term development of the area.
Knell said that when the rezoning proposal was first brought to the attention of the City Council, he recalled staff recommending that the two lots they are now proposing be rezoned as M-1 and M-2 both be zoned under the same classification.
Napier said the City Council could choose to zone both lots under the same classification. Knell initially said he thought it might make sense to zone both lots as M-2 in order to allow the greatest flexibility in attracting new businesses, adding that he thinks there is plenty of commercial property available and that he wouldn’t want to limit the types of industrial businesses that may have an interest in building in Casper.
“I would just hate to limit ourselves,” he said.
Councilmember Lisa Engebretsen, on the other hand, said that with the sports facility being proposed for the area, she could see the area becoming of prime interest to hotel and restaurant developers and that certain industrial uses might detract from such commercial interest in the area.
Councilmember Amber Pollock made a similar point, saying she thinks it might make some sense to limit the types of industrial applications if the city wants to see the area become more of a recreation and entertainment destination for tourists. She noted that the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center and the Ford Wyoming Center are already some of Casper’s major draws for tourists.
Councilmember Steve Cathey noted that the city could easily change zoning from M-1 to M-2 if it does get interest from an industrial business needing that zoning classification.
The initial reason the city started looking at the area was to try and make larger land parcels available, Freel said. He added that just because an area is zoned to allow industrial applications doesn’t mean the area would necessarily become home to something like a refinery.
Freel pointed to an area in Cheyenne known as Swan Lake which has large parcels and has been able to attract big companies like Microsoft and a Walmart distribution center. He said he’d like to see the City Council stick with the goal of making larger parcels available for businesses and added that there are other areas the city owns near the Ford Wyoming Center that could be specifically zoned to attract hotels and restaurants that may be more suitable than the lots in question.
Knell expressed agreement with Freel’s point, adding that he thinks Casper would be high on the list of companies like Walmart if they were interested in opening another distribution center in Wyoming.
Developing a master plan is a step Pollock said she thinks the city should take due to the strategic importance of the land near the Ford Wyoming Center for future development in Casper. Napier said that hiring a consultant to conduct such a plan might make some sense for such reasons.
Knell asked whether it was possible for city staff to conduct the master plan rather than hiring a consultant. Napier said he thinks city staff are capable of conducting such a plan but the problem is their plates are too full with other work.
In regard to the zoning classification of the lots in question, Napier said that once a classification is set, the City Council’s ability to dictate what gets developed in the area will diminish.
Freel suggested the City Council stick with staff’s proposal to zone one lot as M-1 and the other as M-2. If a business such as an ammunition manufacturer is interested in moving to the area, they could still approach the city and the M-1 lot could be rezoned if that space is needed. Zoning it initially as M-1 would provide a kind of stop-gap to retain some say about what gets developed there, Freel said.
Knell and the other councilmembers expressed agreement with Freel’s proposal. The City Council also indicated it would like city staff to bring back a cost estimate for hiring a consultant to conduct a master plan for the area.
In terms of the steps to rezone the lots in question, the City Council will be asked to consider some formal steps at its next regular meeting. The City Council also indicated it is interested in adding covenants to the area.
A staff memo explaining the proposal, along with maps of the area in question, is available as follows:
