Acceptable land uses in certain areas of Powell becoming more defined
POWELL —- As a group of neighbors huddled around a map of Powell and the rural areas circling the town, one drew a line from where AGRICULTURE was written in big letters south of town around Powell and to the north.
Maria Berchtold said, as her rural Powell neighbors watched, that all of the big acreage on the map was being farmed, and those parcels and their use should be protected.
That drew a nod of agreement from Julie Thompson.
The group of neighbors, all of whom are in the Powell Local planning area (land around the city limits of Powell and bordered to the west by CodyPowell Rural), were taking part in another public input meeting held the evening of March 26 at Homesteader Hall as part of Park County’s development standards and regulation amendments process.
They are far from alone in supporting agriculture. In Powell Local, people have consistently asked for no regulation (besides possibly a building permit) on agricultural uses in ag areas, and very few restrictions in other areas.
Other areas, such as CodyPowell Rural and Clark, were similarly in agreement throughout the in-person sessions and the hugely successful online questionnaire.
Other uses have had a more varied response and, as consultant Melissa Ruth said at the start of the event, industry was often on the opposite end of the spectrum from ag uses.
“Nobody really wanted to see it anywhere,” she said of uses such as large commercial renewable energy projects. “Pretty common for every planning area.”
People have differences of opinion on residential and commercial uses.
For instance, the draft use table shows CodyPowell Rural residents are generally OK with small scale commercial lodging with some minimal regulations in all areas.
Meanwhile, in Powell Local, the consensus is there should be no small scale commercial lodging in some areas and allowed with a medium amount of regulation in areas such as smaller density residential (5 acre lot averages as opposed to larger 10 or 20 lot average areas) and neighborhood commercial.
Ruth said it’s this kind of input that is being used to develop a draft set of phase two regulation amendments that will eventually go before the planning and zoning commission and county commissioners, both of which will hold more public meetings before making final votes.
To see all of the draft use tables for each of the 12 planning areas, visit engageparkcounty. Com.
This story was published on April 3, 2025.
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