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Commissioners approve New Mount Carmel stone workshop as a large-impact structure but bar industrial classification pending easement issues
Summary
The board approved an 18,000 sq ft stone-cutting building for the New Mount Carmel Foundation as a large-impact structure, rejecting a simultaneous classification as a major industrial use because private easements limit commercial access; neighbors objected citing easement language that prohibits commercial use.
Planning staff summarized the New Mount Carmel Foundation application for an 18,000-square-foot stone-cutting workshop, initially classified as a large-impact structure and later considered for a dual industrial classification because the monks said stones might be sold after monastery construction is complete.
Helen Hassan, representing 91 Ranch, told the board the access to the monks’ property is over a private road governed by an easement that explicitly restricts “access for any commercial use.” "Major industrial use is completely open-ended. It violates the easements," Hassan said, asking the board to limit approval to non-commercial, private uses.
Staff confirmed the easement language and said written objections and an earlier email from a neighboring landowner raised similar concerns about heavy truck traffic and notification of affected landowners. Planning staff recommended that the board determine the appropriate use classification. Commissioners debated conditions, including whether to require design plans stamped by a Wyoming-licensed engineer and how long the permit should remain valid if construction does not commence.
The board voted to approve SUP 288 as a large-impact structure only, removing redundant specific conditions and extending the permit-establishment timeline (board replaced the one‑year “established” clause with a two‑year timeline and amended a construction-season condition to advise the applicant to consider Game and Fish's recommended winter limitation). The decision explicitly did not grant a major industrial/commercial classification because existing private easements and public comments indicate commercial access and customer pick-up at the property would be inconsistent with recorded rights-of-way.
The board’s action includes conditions: comply with Park County development standards; provide required fire‑marshall approvals and site-plan submittals before construction; and observe recommended timing to minimize wildlife impacts. Commissioners said the monks could return later to request an amendment if they secure easement changes that allow commercial shipment or customer access.
