Park County denies Green Creek Inn & RV Park SUP 264, citing density and safety concerns

Park County commissioners voted 3-1 to deny Special Use Permit 264 for the Green Creek Inn and RV Park, a proposal that would have expanded the property to 29 RV sites on an 8.8-acre parcel in the North Fork planning area.

Planning staff presented the application and supporting materials, saying the project, submitted in April by Riley Olsen of Morrison and Merly on behalf of Mountain Lodging LLC, included drainage, design and construction plans and a draft UIC permit from DEQ. "There will be 29 finished RV sites," applicant representative Riley Olsen told the board.

Staff summarized agency review: Rocky Mountain Power can provide electricity; the State electrical plan-review approval had expired and would need to be reissued before construction; the State Engineer approved groundwater appropriations for two wells; and the DEQ Water Quality Division issued a draft UIC authorization. Wyoming Game and Fish recommended limiting activity in the area during winter months because the site lies in crucial deer winter range: staff reported that Game and Fish "recommends this use have no activity from November 15 to the April each year." Public Works reviewed and approved the drainage and traffic-flow plans pending clarification of accesses.

Staff also summarized public input: 16 written comments received before the weekend (all opposed) plus additional emails and public-comment letters raising safety and traffic concerns, environmental and rural-character impacts, septic and wastewater impacts, lighting and noise, trespass and a perceived lack of need. Commissioners noted that Planning & Zoning concluded the proposal was not "in harmony or compatible with the area" and recommended denial.

The board debated several issues before voting. Commissioners described the primary grounds for denial as incompatibility with neighboring residential properties, safety problems tied to ingress and egress on a high-speed stretch of highway and the density of the proposed RV pads concentrated on approximately 2.5–3 acres of the lot. Commissioners discussed that the proposal would remove 10 tent sites and reduce existing on-site RV spaces from eight to three, producing 29 RV sites overall; they also discussed potential mitigations such as turn lanes or other YDOT improvements but noted YDOT requires crash data or formal studies to add turning-lane treatments.

Commissioner Stewart moved to deny SUP 264 "due to compatibility with the neighborhood, safety issues with the highway access and egress, and the density of the proposal." The motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote, 3 in favor and 1 opposed. Staff asked that the board clearly state the reasons in the written resolution; the denial was recorded as Resolution 2025-79. The chair noted that a denial would generally bar the same application from returning for one year absent a substantially revised proposal.

Staff had also read a set of 15 recommended conditions that would have applied if the SUP were approved, including: compliance with Park County nuisance, noise and lighting regulations; submittal of graphic documentation identifying existing and decommissioned campsites; state fire marshal electrical-plan review and evidence of an approved permit to construct; abandonment and gating of specified access points per Wyoming Department of Transportation requirements; prohibition on operation or construction between Nov. 15 and April 30 annually; posting of bear-awareness information and compliance with Game and Fish sanitation/garbage recommendations; DEQ notices of completion for domestic water and wastewater systems; an approved long-term noxious-weed management plan; down-directed, shielded lighting to protect dark skies; and paving designated internal roads with evidence of county engineer approval.

The denial leaves open the possibility that the applicant could return with a reduced-density or traffic-mitigation proposal, but the board’s vote requires either a substantially different application or waiting the statutory or policy year-long reapplication window.