EVANSTON — During council comments at the April 16 Evanston City Council meeting, Councilmember Jesse Lind said he wanted to send a needed apology to Rep. Jon Conrad for how he was treated at the last regular meeting in March.

“I was not in attendance at that meeting but was on speaker phone,” Lind said. “It was spring break, and I was with my family on a trip. I just want to say, I did not appreciate how Rep. Conrad was treated. I have real concerns about that meeting. I also don’t appreciate some of the leadership, letters and email from Mayor (Kent) Williams to Rep. (Lloyd) Larsen in Fremont County. I still want to work toward saving the historic (Wyoming) State Hospital buildings. This effort will take no money from the city, and Rocco (O’Neill) could issue the RFPs (requests for proposals) as part of his job. It will be a real mistake not to use those buildings for economic development.”

Councilmember Jen Hegeman said the National Veterans Awareness Ride is scheduled for May 16, and she plans to ride in it. She encouraged others to join in thanking our veterans for their service, and she mentioned her son, who is in the 101st Airborne.

Mayor Williams thanked Lind and Hegeman for their comments and moved to the first item of business.

The council approved the parade route and street closure for the National Veterans Awareness Ride at approximately 5 p.m. on May 16, when riders will enter town at Exit 3. The street closure will be on 9th Street between Front and Main for bike parking.

Evanston Senior Planner DuWayne Jacobsen addressed the first item under new business, asking for approval of an ordinance authorizing the final plat for the Burnt Hill addition. This addition is located off West Cheyenne Drive and is divided into two parcels; one being zoned light manufacturing and the other section zoned community business.

The property will have two entrances off Cheyenne Drive. Jacobsen said all subdivision regulations have been complied with.

The council unanimously approved the final plat for the Burnt Hill Addition at first reading. The ordinance will come before the council for two more readings before final approval.

Jacobsen addressed the second ordinance, which was a request from Tony Weaver for a zone change for property located in the Aspen Hills Estates Addition. Weaver is asking to change the zoning of the property from low density residential-developing zone (LR-D) to rural residential-1 zone (RR-1).

“The owners of five of the eight lots constituting the property have consented to the proposed zone change,” Jacobsen said. “Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend the council deny the zone change. The zone change would open up the option for owners to have a horse, llama or alpacas, but no cows — one animal per acre.”

A landowner said she owns four acres and her husband has four llamas he uses for hunting.

Four of the landowners who live in the area and attending the meeting spoke in favor of the zone change and one man spoke in opposition.

“If this zone change is approved, the covenant that the landowners have all signed will no longer be valid,” resident Earl Masters said. “The covenant rules state no horses and no breeding of dogs. I am opposed to the zone change.”

Evanston City Attorney Mark Harris said a zone change would not eliminate any covenant and the homeowners would have to work out any changes in the covenant.

Richard Stack told the council he lives adjacent to the couple with llamas and he had no problem with the zone change, adding that the residents need to be allowed more flexibility with their own property. He said he bought his property four years ago and he never saw a covenant.

Tera Lawlar, who owns one of the lots in the area, said she had never heard of a covenant and that she was in favor of the change.

Evanston Community Development Director Rocco O’Neill also said he lives in that area and he has no problem with the zone change.

Eric Mander said he has a 5-acre lot in the area and has never seen a covenant nor attended a neighborhood meeting.

“These eight lots get no services from the city,” Mander said, “no garbage pickup, no road maintenance, yet we pay lots of taxes. We should be able to do what we want with our land. I’m in favor of the zone change and see no problem with the neighbor having llamas.”

Mayor Williams said he agreed, and called for a vote on the matter.

Hegeman, along with Councilmembers David Welling and Evan Perkes, voted in favor of the zone change, while Lind and Councilmember Tim Lynch voted in opposition. Councilmember Mike Sellers was excused and not present. The zone change was approved on first reading and will be heard two more times before final approval.

The council then approved the fourth change order for the Grey Shell loading facilities project at Roundhouse section 4 as requested by Rocco O’Neill, community development director.

O’Neill said this change order is for structural footers redesign and doesn’t involve as much time and materials as originally thought and still meets seismic requirements.

The council approved a contract for the Evanston Police Department to provide the Uinta County Sheriff Department with surplus automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to assist in search and rescue efforts in the community, as requested by EPD Chief Mike Vranish.

The council then approved the setting of the green fees and other related fees for the Purple Sage Municipal Golf Course for the 2024 season, as requested by Parks and Recreation director Kim Larsen.

The last item on the agenda was a preliminary review of Impact Physical Therapy office and fieldhouse at 140 Saddle Ridge Rd.

Jacobsen told the council that this was a standard review to see if the Planned Unit Development (PUD) is compatible with other businesses and structures surrounding it. He said Planning and Zoning Commission and the fire department had approved the plan.

The site will be developed in two phases and phase one will be a 7,000 square-foot building housing the therapy office and a parking lot. Phase 2 will be an additional building and more parking. Jacobsen said Justin Dennis, the owner, will have to go through another approval process when he is ready to develop the second phase.

“There were some concerns cited in a letter from Paul Knopf regarding the looks of the proposed steel building in a residential neighborhood and where the rec center, the human resources building and apartments owned by Evanston Housing Authority are located,” Jacobsen told the council.

Jacobsen showed slides of the neighboring buildings, which are comprised mostly of brick and siding materials. He also showed slides of similar buildings to what Dennis has planned — the Base Camp and Gases Plus buildings.

Ben Gillette, the contractor working for Dennis addressed the council.

“This type of siding we use doesn’t look like a typical steel building,” he said. “It will have a 50-foot storefront and windows with trim. We could put four feet of wainscotting on the front to dress it up even more.”

Dennis addressed the council.

“We did fulfill the requirements,” he said. “We came to your work session to show you our plans; we went through the process, and I was under the impression this would be taken care of at this meeting. We are anxious to get started; this is costing us time and money. Can I ask the council to hold a special session to complete this?”

Lind said he didn’t know why there was such concern over the type of building and added that the city has lots of similar buildings. He said he saw no reason why they couldn’t move forward on it.

Local resident Ben Bell, who is a member of the Uinta County Economic Development Commission (UCEDC), spoke next.

“We have an opportunity here for a business owner to add jobs and help the community’s economy,” Bell said. “The Youth Club has a very similar situation with their steel building in a residential neighborhood and it is used consistently and is a great addition to the community. As a member of UCEDC, I think Evanston should promote an open for business sign to other businesses and be pro-growth.”

David Bennett and Shantelle Sumsion also spoke in favor of Dennis’s proposed plan.

Perkes said he doesn’t think the argument against the looks of the building held water and he thought Dennis was providing something good for the city.

Hegeman asked if they couldn’t do a split session at the work session the following Tuesday and hold a special session to further review Dennis’ plan.

It was decided that the council would hold a split session on Tuesday, April 23, with the work session followed by a special session.