Sweetwater County planners postpone hearings on partial vacation, rezoning and subdivision for proposed Maverick site amid easement, sewer and access disputes

At a Sweetwater County Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, commissioners postponed three related public hearings — a partial vacation of a decades-old plat, a zone map amendment to allow commercial use and a preliminary subdivision — for land along Highway 374 that the applicant says is intended for a Maverick convenience store and fuel station.

The commission postponed the vacation, the zone-change and the subdivision hearings after staff and multiple parties described outstanding issues that would affect whether the strip of frontage could be developed as proposed. Planning staff cited unresolved easement negotiations with Jamestown/Rio Vista water interests, a requested permanent waterline easement for a separate Project West development, outstanding Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) review of the proposed septic system, and outstanding Wyoming Department of Transportation (YDOT) access approvals.

The pending application would partially vacate an existing, largely undeveloped subdivision plat covering roughly 8.5 acres of frontage off Highway 374 (transcript: Eric, county planning staff). Planning staff told the commission the subdivision behind that frontage has a complicated legal history dating to bankruptcy in the 1980s, multiple underlying lot configurations that do not meet current zoning standards, and recorded easements and utility notes that must be resolved before a final plat could be approved.

Applicant and property owner statements and public comments reflected both frustration and concern about process and safety. Todd Myers, identified in the meeting as an employee of Maverick, said the company had altered its site plan to accommodate an easement demand and had been through extended review of a proposed septic system. Myers also told the commission, “We withdraw our applications at this time,” before some participants clarified the withdrawal and ultimately the commission voted to postpone the hearings.

Property owner Stuart Groh, who identified himself as the managing member of Corner Properties and as the applicant for the frontage actions, said the partial vacation was intended to allow a frontage sale and development while avoiding an immediate, more complex replacement of the entire old plat. “I thought this was the easiest way to go,” Groh said, describing long-standing title complexities and his desire to complete a sale to Maverick. Groh said he planned to meet Jamestown-Rio Vista representatives to try to resolve outstanding concerns.

Jamestown-Rio Vista representatives described their primary concern as getting lots they own within the original plat into a configuration that can be developed or sold; a representative told the commission the district and the other property owners had a scheduled meeting to try to resolve those issues. Planning staff said the meeting (reported in the hearing) is a necessary step before the county can move forward.

A member of the public who lives in the area, Angela Wilson, urged the county to address current road and signage problems at the Highway 374 access, saying drivers frequently back onto the highway and create hazardous conditions. "Somebody is gonna die," Wilson said, describing repeated near-misses at the exit and asking the county to coordinate signage with YDOT.

Planning staff summarized outstanding technical items for the record: an incomplete drainage report and inconsistencies among the construction drawings, civil plans and drainage documents; a need for a subdivision improvement cost estimate and a subdivision improvements agreement; outstanding YDOT access permits; and an unresolved WDEQ review of the proposed wastewater system. Staff also noted a specific recorded utility concern from Lumen (fiber) that limits what easements may be vacated.

Given those unresolved items and at least one expressed desire from the applicant to pause until utility- and easement-related negotiations progress, the commission voted to postpone the hearings by unanimous votes. Commissioners and staff said postponement, rather than denial, left the door open for applicants to return once the listed items are resolved and to avoid triggering an automatic one-year reapplication bar that can follow a denial.

The commission directed staff to send a consolidated list of outstanding items to the property owner/applicant so those issues can be addressed before the matter returns. Planning staff said they expect to accommodate a new hearing once the applicant confirms progress on Jamestown-Rio Vista, YDOT, WDEQ and Project West easement negotiations.

Ending: The postponements leave the proposed Maverick frontage application in limbo while multiple third-party easement and permitting issues are negotiated. Planning staff will provide the applicant with the outstanding checklist and the commission indicated it expects to reschedule hearings once the technical and interparty matters are resolved.