Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
A large evergreen tree at the edge of the lot adjacent to Blair's Market was removed last week. The lot has been purchased by Y6 Rentals and will be used to expand Blair's parking lot.
After some debate, the Worland Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission approved a motion during their regular meeting Monday, Jan. 13, to recommend to the city council vacating the alley between 1700 Robertson Avenue parcel and 1701 Big Horn Avenue parcel.
The two parcels were recently purchased by Brandon and Shalene Yule doing business as Y6 Rentals. Per the vacation request sent to the Board, they would like to vacate the alley between the properties to "expand for additional parking for Blair's Market guests as well as opportunities for future expansion of our building to the west. Both locations are personally owned by Brandon and Shalene Yule and will be leased to Blair's Market."
Per the request, "Vacation of the alley and repurposing of these properties will be encompassed by the maintenance and operation plan of Blair's Market, which is currently owned and operated by Brandon and Shalene as well."
The vacation request noted that there is a fire hydrant, sewer access and three power poles in the proposed vacated area.
Both buildings will be scheduled for removal this year, the Yules noted in the request. The buildings currently house the Wyoming Department of Transportation offices (1701 Big Horn) and the Wyoming Department of Family Services, Women, Infants and Children office and Nail Jive (1700 Robertson Ave.). The Yules said the WYDOT building would be removed first.
According to WYDOT Public Relations Specialist Cody Beers, there were only three WYDOT employees that had offices in the building. An engineer and engineering technician moved to the Basin crew and the new resident engineer, Kelly Erickson, is located in Thermopolis.
Attempts to contact Nail Jive were unsuccessful at press time.
Building official representative Jesse Frisbee said easements regarding the sewer line would have to be included in any site plan but he did talk to city crews and they said they could cap the line in the alley.
Board member James Donahue asked how the board could recommend the vacation that includes power poles owned by Rocky Mountain Power.
He also asked about the entire square footage being vacated and Frisbee said a little over 3,000 square feet. Donahue noted that basically by vacating the alley the city is essentially donating 3,000 square feet to the Yules.
Frisbee noted in the meeting that part of the alley after the two properties is already vacated.
Wyoming Department of Family Services Public Information Officer Kelly Douglas said they are exploring options for a new location in Worland but the new location has yet to be determined. She said they are working to ensure no interruption of serivce and emphasized that the office will remain in Worland, just at a new location.
Board member Sean Duffy said he was OK with vacation as long as the city did not incur any expenses.
The board approved a motion to recommend vacating the alley to the city council contingent upon approval for easements and approval by all utilities including sewer, power poles and the fire hydrant.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at Monday's meeting:
•The board approved a motion to recommend an amendment to the city sign code to the council. An amendment would require approval of an ordinance with three readings.
The amendment removes a lot of the restrictions on electronic messages for signs. Frisbee noted the city's code was one of the more restrictive in the state, prohibiting video.
The amendment removes that restriction by eliminating restrictions on minimum display time.
The proposed amendment does include light intensity limits measured in NITs (equals one candela per square meter). The light intensity decreases at night with smaller limits for red, green and amber; and allows for 5,000 NITs for daytime and 1,000 nighttime.
It was noted at the meeting that signs on 10th and Big Horn also fall under Wyoming Department of Transportation regulations as they are US 20 and US 16 highways, respectively.
•Frisbee provided a brief update on Dollar General noting they are still getting design plans and have not submitted any at this time.
He did say he talked to neighbors at the proposed site on Big Horn Avenue between Third and Fourth Streets and answered their questions that were brought up at a recent council meeting. He said the retaining pond would be near Big Horn Avenue rather than at the back of the property near the alley.
He said he also understood there would be a privacy fence at the back of the property along the alley. That seemed to alleviate any safety concerns they had regarding a young neighbor girls in the area.
