Judge rules in favor of defendant in Tipi Retreat vs. county commissioners

On behalf of Hot Springs County and the Board of County Commissioners (HSCC), the Hot Springs County Attorney’s Office issued the following statement on Monday, May 6.

“In regard to the matter of The Tipi Retreat, LLC, Michelle Stevens, and Michael Stevens, Plaintiffs, v. the Hot Springs County Board of County Commissioners, Defendant, Docket No. 2022-003 in the District Court, 5th Judicial District, the Court has made the following findings:

•The Hot Springs County Land Use Plan and Developmental Regulations properly establish enforceable zoning regulations with identifiable standards to control and regulate land use development, including the Plaintiff’s land uses.

•Hot Springs County had legally existing zoning regulations in effect when the Plaintiff’s began their development project, therefore, the County did not violate their constitutional due process rights when it denied their development permit.”

On May 2, 2024, the Court affirmed the decision of the Hot Springs County Board of County Commissioner’s decision to deny the Plaintiff’s land use change application.

History

In May of 2021, Bo Bowman, the then land use planner for HSC, discovered the Tipi Retreat had, without county authorization, erected four tipis on their rural property for the purpose of allowing public overnight lodging. The Stevens’ operated the business on a parcel of approximately sixty acres in rural HSC owned by Ms. Stevens’ father, Bill Glover. The Tipi Retreat advertised its operation to the public and charged for the camping experience. The Tipi Retreat did not apply to the county for a development permit prior to opening its property for the land use. At Bowman’s urging, Tipi Retreat applied for a permit in order to continue its operations. Following review, the board of commissioners determined that the use was not in conformance with its land use development regulations and denied the permit.

On June 24, 2021, Bowman sent an email to Stevens stating that he had discussed the permit with the planning commission. Bowman stated the bed and breakfast category was not a perfect fit for the use and that the planning commission believed the use was more properly identified as a campground. Bowman stated that the review process would be the same regardless and the name change from “bed and breakfast” to “campground” was a change that assisted his office internally. Bowman did not mention in his communication the difference between a bed and breakfast and a campground under the regulations. A “bed and breakfast” is a use that occurs within the landlord’s residence property. The regulations do not require a land use change for such a permit. As such, if the use was a “bed and breakfast,” the land use would not change from agricultural to commercial. A campground on the other hand, requires a land use change under the regulations. As such, the agricultural status of the Tipi Retreat’s land would have to be changed. These facts did not change the manner in which the application was reviewed and determined. The same review criteria apply regardless of the use category.

The Tipi Retreat is located at the end of a private road granted to owner Bill Glover by a previous board of county commissioners in accordance with Wyoming private road statutes. The road passes through three neighboring properties whose owners opposed the development for various reasons including that the private road access was not sufficient to handle the potential traffic arising from the development.

In the court’s earlier decision letter, it was discussed in length that Hot Springs County’s development regulations contain a list of absolute policies that a particular development must comply with. The regulations also list relative policies that the planning commission and the commissioner board score in reviewing an application. If a proposed development fails any absolute policy, the application must be denied despite how it may score under the relative policies. If a development complies with absolute policies, the development may nevertheless be denied if the commissioners score the relative policies with a negative computation.

The application went before the county’s planning commission for a public hearing on July 21, 2021. The planning commission recommended that the development be approved. Concerns arose in the public hearing regarding road conditions and other matters. The planning commission found that The Tipi Retreat’s project complied with all absolute policies and weighed favorably under the relative policies. The planning commission voted to recommend approval. The application then went before the county commissioners.

The county commissioners met on December 21, 2021, and denied the application. The record contains minutes from the hearing. The board found that the development did not meet several Absolute Policies identified in the development regulations, including access and right of way, road construction standards, internal road maintenance, easement width, sewer and safety egress.

According to the court document, the board’s decision did not include specific findings of fact showing its determinations regarding how the development failed to meet the board’s regulatory policies nor did it incorporate findings from the county’s land use planner or the planning and zoning commission. At the end of the December public hearing, after hearing from various parties for and against the project, the board made its decision denying the application. The board is composed of three members. At that time Chairman Tom Ryan, Phil Scheel and Jack Baird served on the board.

On December 21, 2021, land use planner Bo Bowman sent the Tipi Retreat a letter restating the board’s denial of the application. The letter did not include specific findings explaining the denial.

The Tipi Retreat, LLC, a Wyoming Limited Liability Company, Michelle Stevens, individually, and Michael Stevens, individually, brought suit against the Hot Springs County Board of County Commissioners in January of 2022.

The Defendant (HSCC) filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment in June of 2022 and were granted a Partial Summary Judgment in the District Court, 5th Judicial District in November 2022. The Partial Summary Judgment Order made the following findings:

•The Hot Springs County Land Use Plan and Developmental Regulations properly establish enforceable zoning regulations with identifiable standards to control and regulate land use development, including the Plaintiff’s land uses.

•Hot Springs County had legally existing zoning regulations in effect when the Plaintiff’s began their development project, therefore, the County did not violate their constitutional due process rights when it denied their development permit.

•The Plaintiff’s (The Tipi Retreat, LLC, et.al.) Complaint for Declaratory Judgement and Injunctive Relief was dismissed by the Court in November of 2022. The Plaintiff’s filed a Petition for Judicial Review.

In May of 2023, Fifth Judicial District Judge Bill Simpson issued an Order Remanding the case back to the HSCC for further action.

In August of 2023 the HSCC submitted a 16-page Specific Findings by Board Upon Remand by District Court in response to a court order asking for such.

On May 2, 2024, the Court affirmed the decision of the Hot Springs County Board of County Commissioner’s decision to deny the Plaintiff’s land use change application.