City hopes rezoning will entice buyers on 9 acres off Robertson Road

CASPER, Wyo —  The City of Casper is hoping that some zone changes will help it sell about 9 acres of undeveloped land off Robertson Road. The four lots zoned for planned-unit development has been listed several times over the last few years, but the only bid was for about half the appraised value of around $1 million, City Manager Carter Napier told council at a work session Tuesday.

“We’d like you to consider the property here in a bit of a different light,” Napier said, “so that maybe we can have more success as it relates to transitioning this property to the private sector.”

The lots are on the corner of Trevett Lane and Robertson Road, right across the street from the river access.  Community Development Director Liz Becher said the city has listed it eight times, but developers don’t like the design standards.

Council agreed with an approach to zone the lots facing Trevett Lane for general business and the larger lots to the north for high-density or some other kind of residential. Councilor Kyle Gamroth but said he’d heard concerns about high-density housing bringing traffic to roads that had been built to county specifications. Councilor Jai Ayla Sutherland said that what people needed most was senior housing, workforce housing, and starter homes.

Becher said the commercial lots might house a convenience store for rivergoers to get soda and air up tubes, and some councilors voiced their support.

“Hopefully this would be the secret recipe to getting that property sold and transitioned to a more productive use for the community than what it currently sits at,” Napier said.

Because the city owns the land, it could bypass the planning and zoning board. It would still hold a public hearing, and the ordinance would need to pass three readings. Council would still get approved or reject specific proposals.