September 6, 2024 |
Photo – Map of parcel of land owned by federal government – Courtesy City of Rawlins
In Rawlins, public objections to the city’s request to rezone property along Highway 71 south of town, may violate a nearly 60-year-old agreement, forcing the city to give the land back to the federal government.
Last month, the Rawlins city council voted to rezone Bureau of Land Management-owned property south of Donnel Street. Originally zoned as residential, the governing body permitted the land to be used for commercial purposes. The zone change was necessary to allow BLM to construct a new fire station and barracks on the land.
The city owns a 19-acre parcel of land in the same area. With no residential interest for decades, the Rawlins city government also requested a change to commercial zoning.
Residents living along Donnel Street signed a petition to block the city’s zone change application. Despite the landowners’ protests, the Rawlins Planning and Zoning Commission narrowly voted to recommend allowing the change.
The decision is now in the hands of the Rawlins city council.
The petition garnered enough landowner signatures to trigger a law requiring a three-fourths majority of city council members to vote in favor of the zone change for it to take effect.
Mayor Terry Weickum opened a public hearing for the zone change during Tuesday’s Rawlins city council meeting. Carbon County Deputy Clerk and Rawlins resident Wendy Newbrough lives across the street from the property in question. Newbrough informed the council that her petition against the zone change now has more landowner signatures.
In her research, Newbrough said she found the patent, filed in 1967, that granted Rawlins the parcel of land from the BLM. However, the agreement states that the United States Secretary of the Interior must approve all development plans for the property. If the city fails to live up to the patent, Newbrough said the federal government may demand that city return the land to the feds.
Newbrough accused the city of failing to adhere to the nearly 60-year-old agreement. She said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is within her right to take the land back.
Newbrough said the contract gives the city a chance to buy the land from the federal government. However, the city must pay 50% of the value of the land and 57 years’ worth of interest.
Newbrough said the patent places significant restrictions on how the city can use the land. Should the agreement be broken, the property between Donnel Street and Highway 71 will go back to the federal government.
According to her understanding of the patent, Newbrough said the city may not use the land for any other purpose, including rezoning for commercial use, without prior authorization from the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
Newbrough said the city has not been honoring the contract correctly since its inception. The federal government has the right to take back the land unless the city wishes to purchase it outright.
Because of the 57-year-old agreement, Newbrough said the city lacks the authority to rezone the property. On top of that, she reminded the governing body that every resident on Donnel Street objects to the zone change.
Following Newbrough’s statements, eight other Donnel Street residents also spoke out against the proposed zone change request. Mayor Weickum then closed the public hearing.
The zone change was brought up for a vote later during Tuesday’s Rawlins city council meeting. Mayor Weickum used his authority to introduce a motion to table the vote to research the issue further.
Mayor Weickum assured the Donnel Street residents that they will be given notice when the city council brings the matter up for another vote. The mayor said it may take some time to fully understand what the city may or may not do with the property.
