Sublette County has posted the new  Draft Planning  and  Zoning Regulations online  at   https://www.sublettecountywy.gov/533/Proposed-Zoning-Development-Regulations. These will be presented by the County’s Consultant to a joint meeting of the Planning and Zoning Board and Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 1, following the scheduled meeting  of the Board  of County Commissioners.  It is not clear whether the public will  be allowed to ask questions of the consultant,  but we  hope  so. 

From the Sublette County website:  “The public is invited and encouraged to attend commission meetings. They begin in the commission meeting room of the Sublette County Courthouse located at 21 South Tyler Avenue in Pinedale at 9:00 am with the Pledge of Allegiance and proceed until lunchtime. The commission adjourns for lunch around 11:30 am, and then reconvenes for business at 1:00 pm, usually working throughout the afternoon until all pending agenda business is handled.”  The workshop on the regulations will occur after  the afternoon session. 

Given the potential impact on Sublette County lifestyle and values, it is critical that people participate.    It is also critical that the public have ample opportunity to study and understand the implications as these are voluminous and complex regulations.  It has taken more than a year  to devise these draft regulations, and the consultant has had several months to prepare the draft version. 

We hope that  a process is provided  so that both the public and the Planning and Zoning Board have ample time (months) to review  and comment, and for the Planning and Zoning Board to prepare its analysis and mark-up of the draft regulations for further public review before making any recommendation to the Board  of County Commissioners.  Likewise, the Board of County Commissioners will need those months for it’s own research and analysis before holding public meetings to inform the people and receive input. 

During this process, these Boards should meet with local communities and explain how the revised regulations will reflect the Vision expressed in our Sublette County Comprehensive Plan, that is,  how they will  impact the values we hold for open space, rural values and wildlife.  How will they change Sublette County?  We are very concerned. 

John Carter, Bondurant, Wyo.