Planning and Zoning Commission will recommend changes to council
CHRISTINE ROBINSON Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Sunday, April 6, 2008 12:00 am
Communication is improving, but there is still work to be done, said Wyoming Automotive owner Paul Meyer.
The Old Yellowstone District, an area between Poplar Street and downtown, is slated for redevelopment by the city, a possibility some business owners have questioned.
As the plan moves into its second approval stage, the Planning and Zoning Commission listened to the concerns of the Old Yellowstone Coalition and altered some of the earlier pieces that offended group members.
The commission will recommend to the Casper City Council that the streets be changed on a map of what the future district could resemble. The original map called for several streets to cross over existing businesses, creating concern among the business owners.
"We took what we heard from the coalition and made all of those street changes so they wouldn't go through businesses," said April Getchius, the community development director.
The city also relocated the new "town square" to be roughly one block north of Collins Drive, across from Natrona County High School. It is now proposed to be on a piece of city owned land, which Getchius said could expedite its creation.
The commission will also recommend the council form a committee of people invested in the Old Yellowstone District as well as commission and council members. The committee's recommendations would then go before the council.
Meyer said that the process is frustrating because the end result of the project is an unknown, but he does think the city is making an effort to work with the business owners.
"It's like a hospice patient," Meyer said. "You know the end, but if you talk to people everyday it makes the medicine go down better. Communication has improved immensely."
Meyer agrees the plan needs to happen.
"If this neighborhood doesn't get some TLC, what will we have in 20 years?" he said. "A dilapidated neighborhood."
Local entrepreneur Charles Walsh, who owns several buildings in the Old Yellowstone District, said he fully supports of the plan because the streets and sidewalks need improvement.
He and his daughter, Danielle Collins, plan to open a dance club called "That One Place" for teens. The city improvements and investments, he said, could help everyone.
Sound and Cellular owner John Huff is also working on the area, renovating the old Yellowstone Hotel and the Tripeny Motors building.
Standing in the Tripeny building, talking over hammering and the radio, Huff's younger brother Don Huff explained the changes happening. Eventually, he and his brother hope to have summertime parties that spill into a front patio and a showroom for custom cars.
For now, he said, they are struggling to know what the city wants and how that meshes with their plans.
John Huff, said he is excited about the possibility of a new library as his neighbor. The Natrona County Library is looking to buy property near the North Platte River and First Street.
The city is moving forward, he said, and it's a step.
Contact city reporter Christine Robinson at (307) 266-0639 or christine.robinson@trib.com
News tracker:
Last we knew: The Planning and Zoning Commission met and listened to proposals from city staff and concerns from business owners in the Old Yellowstone District.
The latest: The commission made recommendations to the Casper City Council, including changes to a street plan and forming an advisory committee of citizens and commission and council members.
What's next: The city council will listen to the recommendations in its work session on Monday, and vote for the first of three needed approvals in a May council meeting.