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Commission approves five‑lot replat near Kaufman despite traffic concerns
Summary
The commission approved SUB7982025, a replat creating five lots (J.S. Carson Cottages Edition No. 1) northwest of Wyoming Boulevard and Kaufman Avenue. The decision drew neighborhood concern about pedestrian routes and traffic near Valley Hill School; commissioners discussed timing and scope of traffic studies.
The Casper Planning and Zoning Commission approved a replat (SUB7982025) to create five lots fronting Kaufman Avenue as part of a larger multi-phase development called J.S. Carson Cottages Edition No. 1. The replat creates five street-front lots and reserves a 4.93-acre tract for future subdivision phases.
City planning staff said the 5.84-acre parcel will be developed in phases; at the time of the staff report the plan exceeded the R-4 district’s minimum lot size for single-family homes. Staff said a drainage study and water and sewer study had been submitted for review. Because the proposal creates fewer than 20 lots and is not projected to generate more than 75 peak-hour trips, staff reported a traffic study was not required for this phase. Staff also noted a letter of opposition had been received from a neighbor and entered six exhibits into the record.
Applicant representative Laura Landstrom said the owner, JGV LLC, plans three development phases, starting with the five lots presented at this meeting and later subdividing the back tract. Jacob Carson, who said he is the purchaser and developer, told the commission the full development could reach 22 to 23 lots in later phases. “We should have around full, full development around 22 to 23 lots,” Carson said, and added that engineering and preliminary studies are already underway.
Neighbor Sharon Hamilton spoke in opposition and raised concerns about a public walking path and school traffic. “There's a pathway that goes through there from Kaufman over to Sunrise for the kids to go from Valley Hill School through and go down the path and across the street,” Hamilton said, describing parents’ pick-up and drop-off traffic at the nearby school and the potential for increased conflict.
Commissioners pressed staff on traffic study practices. Staff explained the municipal code requires a traffic study when a subdivision produces more than 75 trips in a peak hour or creates more than 20 lots, and that traffic studies typically consider known development but do not automatically include pending projects by different applicants unless scoped by the city engineer. Commissioners expressed concerns about staging multiple developments near an elementary school and asked whether a multi‑project, neighborhood-level traffic analysis could be coordinated; staff said a separate traffic study for a larger nearby project has been initiated and that the city engineer typically scopes studies to account for other known developments in the area.
Commissioner Hutchinson moved to approve the replat; the motion was seconded by Ms. Kopeczek. The final vote was five in favor, one abstention and one no; the motion carried and staff said they will contact the applicant about next steps.
Why it matters: the decision allows immediate development of five lots while leaving the larger tract for later phases. Neighbors and several commissioners flagged concern that cumulative development near Valley Hill School and the Sunrise Shopping area may warrant a broader traffic or safe‑routes review even if this phase does not meet the city’s numeric threshold for a traffic study.
