The official title of this document is the "Unified Land Development Code of the City of Douglas, Wyoming." For ease of use and convenience, it is referred to throughout this document as the "Unified Land Development Code" or the "Code."

(Ord. No. 967, § 42, 8-10-2015)

1.2.1

Authority

This Code is adopted under the powers granted and authority conferred by the laws of the State of Wyoming, including, but not limited to, the following sections of the Wyoming State Statutes (W.S.):

• §§ 9-8-101 to 9-8-302 (Land Use Planning Act)

• §§ 15-1-401 to 15-1-422 (Annexation, Determination of Boundaries, Addition and Exclusion of Land)

• §§ 15-1-501 to 15-1-512 (Planning — Cities and Towns)

• §§ 15-1-601 to 15-1-611 (Zoning — Cities and Towns)

• §§ 34-12-101 to 34-12-115 (Platting and Dedication)

1.2.2

Adoption

Pursuant to the powers and authority granted conferred by Wyoming State law, the City Council for the City of Douglas, Wyoming, hereby approves and adopts the provisions and regulations of this Code by ordinance, which shall be in full force and effect as of 19 August, 2015.

1.2.3

Applicability

The provisions and regulations of this Unified Land Development Code apply to the development of land, including the construction of buildings and other structures as well as the use of land within the incorporated boundaries of the City of Douglas, Wyoming. Pursuant to the authority granted to the City of Douglas under Wyoming law, this Code shall apply to all development whether such development is conducted by private, public, or quasi-public entities. Unless otherwise stated in this Code, these regulations shall not apply to land outside of the incorporated boundaries of the City of Douglas.

(Ord. No. 967, § 42, 8-10-2015)

1.3.1

Overview

This Code is organized into ten (10) chapters which are presented herein in a chapter-by-chapter format. Each chapter is intended to provide information pertaining to a particular phase, component, or specific consideration associated with the land development process. The chapters of this Code include: 1) General Provisions, 2) Definitions and Acronyms, 3) Application and Review Procedures, 4) Zoning, 5) General Development Standards, 6) Use-Specific Development Standards, 7) Subdivision Regulations, 8) Public Improvements and Construction, 9) Enforcement, and 10) Annexations.

1.3.2

Purpose

This Code is adopted for the purpose of preserving and improving the public health, safety, and general welfare of the citizens and businesses of the City of Douglas, Wyoming. In particular, this Code is intended to:

• Support and implement the goals and policies of the City of Douglas Master Plan;

• Provide a fair and just process for reviewing and approving development by ensuring due consideration is given to protecting private property rights, the rights of individuals, and the rights of the community as a whole;

• Ensure that appropriate opportunities to participate in the development process are provided to all concerned parties;

• Preserve and promote predictability, consistency, and efficiency in the land development process;

• Guide and regulate public and private interests and actions to ensure greater efficiencies in providing community infrastructure and improvements such as streets, sidewalks and other pedestrian pathways, water and wastewater services, schools, parks, recreational facilities, and other public and quasi-public facilities;

• Establish reasonable standards for the design and layout of subdivisions and re-plats in order to further the orderly layout and use of land and to ensure proper legal descriptions and monumenting of subdivided land;

• Ensure that public facilities and services will be available concurrent with the development of land and that such facilities and services will have sufficient capacity to serve the proposed development and that the extension of such facilities will be the requirement of the land developer rather than the current residents of the City of Douglas; and

• Ensure that development and use of land is conducted in a manner that will prevent the pollution of air, streams, and ponds while also ensuring that all development and uses of land provide for adequate drainage management and facilities.

(Ord. No. 967, § 42, 8-10-2015; Ord. No. 1011, § 8, 12-13-2021)

As identified above, this Code includes ten (10) chapters. Any person or entity proposing to initiate a land use or construct upon or otherwise develop land within the City of Douglas is encouraged to review the chapter-by-chapter summary below, which includes general instructions for using each chapter as a component of the overall Code.

Chapter 1 — General Provisions

This chapter memorializes adoption of the Unified Land Development Code and includes provisions establishing the authority of the City to administer and interpret the Code. The provisions of this Chapter are frequently relied upon to provide clarity and consistency in the application of the regulations of the Code.

Chapter 2 — Definitions and Acronyms

The terms, acronyms, and definitions in Chapter 2 are intended to provide a single comprehensive source of definitions pertaining to the use and development of land. The lists of terms and acronyms are not intended to be limitless, but rather are intended to provide direction as to the meaning of terms that are commonly used in relation to the use and development of land.

Chapter 3 — Application and Review Procedures

Chapter 3 includes a set of step-by-step procedures for submitting, reviewing, and approving applications under this Code. The provisions in this Chapter address the processing requirements for each application type afforded under this Code, which can range in technical complexity from simple Residential Site Plan applications to more challenging Sketch Plan, Mixed-Use Planned Unit Development, Type B-LSR Development Plan, and Annexation applications. This Chapter should be considered the usual starting point for anyone seeking to initiate a specific development application within the incorporated boundaries of the City of Douglas.

Chapter 4 — Zoning

This Chapter includes provisions pertaining to the City's standard and special purpose zoning districts, the City Zoning Map, zone district-specific dimensional standards, use-specific development standards, and nonconforming uses and structures. A casual user of this Code is likely to rely upon this Chapter to provide a list of uses allowed in a certain zoning district or to provide the required front, rear, and side building setback requirements in a certain zoning district. An experienced user of this Code is likely to rely upon this Chapter to obtain more detailed development regulations, such as the specific requirements for processing a Mixed-Use Planned Unit Development application.

Chapter 5 — General Development Standards

The General Development Standards in this Chapter include requirements pertaining to the following: streets and sidewalks; parking and loading; lighting; fences and walls; drainage; hazards; landscaping and buffering; snow removal and storage; refuse storage; signs; architectural design; and water, wastewater, and utilities. The requirements and limitations for each of the above issues have been organized as to the applicability of each issue to certain land use types (e.g., single-family residential, commercial, industrial, etc.). All development within the City of Douglas shall be subject, to one degree or another, to the requirements of this Chapter. Users of this Code should review the requirements of this Chapter prior to creating plans depicting the layout and design of a proposed development.

Chapter 6 — Use-Specific Development Standards

Many of the allowed and conditional uses of each of the zoning districts outlined in Chapter 4 above are uses that inherently cause, or have the potential to cause, additional adverse impacts to adjoining property owners, the neighborhood, or to existing public infrastructure. This Chapter provides specific regulations pertaining to each of these uses. Many of the regulations function to provide mitigation of the potential adverse impacts of the uses by requiring the developer to comply with additional compatibility measures, such as increased building setbacks, screening and buffering, and landscaping or by limiting certain aspects of the operation, such as hours of operation, maximum use area, or seasonal restrictions.

Chapter 7 — Subdivision Regulations

This Chapter includes regulations for legally dividing land within the City of Douglas. The regulations address certain aspects of the division of land pertaining to the layout and design of a subdivision as well as the dedication of public land and development-related agreements. All users of this Code may, at some point in time, need to utilize the provisions of this Chapter since this Chapter applies to all divisions of land ranging from simple lot splits to multi-phase, large scale subdivisions.

Chapter 8 — Construction of Public Improvements and Utilities

The provisions of this Chapter pertain to the construction and installation of development-related public improvements and utilities. More specifically, this Chapter includes the following: design, submittal, and review requirements for public improvements; subdivision and development improvement agreements; estimates and financial assurance requirements; construction, inspection, and acceptance of public improvements; and requirements for the installation of utilities. Generally, only developers of medium to large scale projects are likely to rely upon the provisions of this Chapter. However, smaller scale development projects could trigger the requirement for minimal public improvements.

Chapter 9 — Enforcement

This Chapter includes language pertaining to the enforcement of the City's zoning and subdivision regulations. This Chapter also identifies the Community Development Director, and his or her designees, as the City Code Enforcement Officer and having the authority to enforce this Code. This Chapter also provides established protocol for ensuring compliance with the requirements of this Code. Only landowners within the City that are subject to enforcement of the zoning or subdivision regulations of this Code are likely to utilize or be subject to the provisions of this Chapter.

Chapter 10 — Annexations, Additions, and De-Annexation

This Chapter provides regulations pertaining to the processes for adding or removing land into or out of the incorporated boundaries of the City of Douglas. The regulations in this Chapter should be reviewed by any landowner seeking to develop his or her property in the City of Douglas.

(Ord. No. 967, § 42, 8-10-2015)

1.5.1

General

The provisions of this Code shall be administered under the authorities granted to the City of Douglas pursuant to Wyoming law. It shall be unlawful for any building, structure, or land use to be constructed, altered, maintained, or initiated in violation of these regulations or amendments hereto. The City shall seek all remedies under this Code and all other legal means to prevent unlawful activities.

1.5.2

Delegation of Authority

When a provision of this Code requires the director of a department or another officer or employee of the City to perform an act or duty to use certain discretion, that provision shall be construed as authorizing the director, officer, or employee of the City to delegate that responsibility to others over whom they have authority.

1.5.3

Other Regulations

A.

Supersedes Prior Regulations
This Code shall supersede all other municipal codes consisting of compilations of general and permanent ordinances and parts of ordinances passed by the City Council pertaining to zoning, subdivision, annexation, and any other regulations pertaining to the development of land in the City of Douglas.

B.

Compliance
In addition to complying with the provisions of this Code, all uses and development within the City of Douglas shall comply with all other applicable city, county, state, and federal regulations.

C.

Conflict
If the provisions of this Code are inconsistent with those of the state or federal government, the provisions of this Code shall be construed, if possible, so that full effect is given to both. If the conflict between the provisions is irreconcilable, the provision of this Code, as a local provision, prevails as an exception to the state or federal provision unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law.

D.

Reference to Current Versions
All references to other regulations in this Code shall be construed to refer to the most current version of those regulations, unless specifically indicated otherwise. In the event that the reference regulations have been repealed the requirement for compliance with the regulation shall no longer be in effect.

E.

Internal Conflicts in City Regulations
If two or more provisions within this Code are inconsistent, or if a provision of this Code is inconsistent with another provision of the City of Douglas Municipal Code, the more restrictive provision, or the provision that is more protective of public health, safety, and welfare, shall control.

1.5.4

Severability

In the event that any portion of this Code is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, that portion found invalid or unconstitutional is hereby deemed to be severed from this Code and in no way shall have the effect of invaliding or otherwise negating any other portion of this Code.

1.5.5

Rules of Construction

A.

Definition of Terms
Words used in this Code have their dictionary meaning unless they are specifically defined in Chapter 2 of this Code. Words defined within Chapter 2 shall have the specific meaning assigned, unless the context clearly indicates another meaning.

B.

Definitions are Not Regulations
The definitions of terms in Chapter 2 of this Code are not intended to establish regulations, but are intended to define the limits of specific uses and other standards.

C.

Tense and Singular/Plural
Words used in the present tense shall include the future. The singular version of a term shall also include the plural, and the plural version shall also include the singular.

D.

Mandatory and Permissive Language
The words "shall," "must," "will," "shall not," "may not," "no…may," and "no…shall" are always considered mandatory in application. The word "should" indicates that which is recommended but is not required. The word "may" indicates a use of discretion in making a decision. The word "used" includes "designed, intended, or arranged" to be used. The use of the masculine gender includes the feminine and vice versa. References to "distance" shall be distance as measured horizontally unless otherwise specified in this Code.

E.

Conjunctions
Conjunctions shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

• "And" indicates that all connecting items, terms, or provisions apply;

• "Or" indicates that the connected items, terms, or provisions may apply singularly or in combination; and

• "Either…or" indicates that the connected items or provisions apply singularly, but do not apply in combination.

(Ord. No. 967, § 42, 8-10-2015)

A.

Computation of Time

Unless otherwise specifically stated within the text of this Code, the measurement of time and a time period shall be interpreted as:

• The day of the subject act or event which initiates the time period shall not be counted;

• The last day of the time period shall be included in the time period and shall end at the close of business, unless such day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal City holiday, in which case the close of business on the next working day shall end the time period.

B.

Graphics and Text

In the event of a conflict between a graphic within this Code and the associated text, the text shall control.

C.

Dimensional Standards

The Community Development Director shall have the authority to interpret the measurement methods for determining compliance with the dimensional standards of this Code. Interpretations by the Community Development Director shall typically be based upon the definitions included in this Code, standard Community Development Department practices, and standard industry practices.

D.

Land Uses

The Community Development Director shall have the authority to interpret the land uses and associated allowances in this Code when attempting to define a proposed use. Such interpretations shall be memorialized in an interpretation letter to the proponent and shall include justification for the interpretation. The justification for each land use interpretation shall include a comparison to comparable land uses and their associated impacts.

(Ord. No. 967, § 42, 8-10-2015)

Any amendment to this Code, other than administrative interpretations, shall follow the same procedures for adoption. Following consultation with the City Attorney, the Community Development Director may make the following changes or corrections to the provisions of this Code administratively when the changes or corrections do not alter the intent or meaning of the provisions:

• Correction of misspelled words;

• Correction of erroneous citations;

• Changes to cross-references that are needed to ensure that such cross-references are consistent with new, amended, reenacted, renumbered, re-lettered, reallocated, or corrected ordinances or resolutions;

• Correction of improper capitalization;

• Editing or adding descriptive headings of chapters, sections, or subsections to indicate the subject matter of the chapter, section, or subsection;

• Correction of the numbering or lettering of sections, including duplicative numbering or lettering;

• Correction of referenced specific job titles or agency names that are changed without having a substantial effect on the job or agency responsibilities;

• Correction of punctuation, including hyphenization;

• Correction of typographical or grammatical errors; and

• Changing gender-specific terms to gender-neutral terms and necessary grammatical changes to ensure proper use of the gender-neutral terms.

(Ord. No. 967, § 42, 8-10-2015)