Beer pitches Back 9 subdivision

Converse County housing is tight these days as hundreds, possibly thousands, of workers flock to the county, filling up apartments and hotel rooms.
Glenrock doesn’t currently face the same housing issues seen in Douglas, but the town would welcome development nonetheless. A new subdivision could mean valuable housing.
Chad Beer, during his final meeting as a councilman, presented a proposed subdivision that would be adjacent to the Glenrock Golf Course and be accessible via Grove Street.
The Back 9 subdivision would contain nine lots, most of which would be a bit over 4 acres. Two of the plots would be larger than 5.5 acres, and the whole property would eventually be annexed to the town.
Concrete and asphalt are expensive, and Beer said he would like to avoid paying for curbs and gutters. Glenrock Town Council indicated that waiving curve and gutter requirements wouldn’t be an issue in the proposed suburban setting.
Glenrock Mayor Bruce Roumell was less amenable to Beer’s request for preliminary approval of the project, prior to Planning and Zoning’s decision. Beer would like the town to also waive some of the road standards that have been enforced for previous developments. The waiver would allow him to build the subdivision access road at a lower cost.
“This needs to go forward with Planning and Zoning and then be brought back to us,” Roumell said.
Glenrock Building and Code Inspector Scott Gilbert said he was not comfortable allowing a road that isn’t up to par, but other than the road he’s in favor of the subdivision and thinks it would be great for the town.
“(The road’s) the only question I see in this whole packet,” Gilbert said. “I think – speaking for myself again – I think this is a great addition to Glenrock. I think there’s a ton of potential here. There’s just a small fear of the cost of maintaining in the future for the town.”
Once annexed, the town will take over maintenance responsibilities for the subdivision road.
Beer said that town revenues from the future properties will offset maintenance costs, but he worries about the project price tag if the town mandates he build the road to a higher standard. He said he felt nervous investing more money in the project without receiving council approval.
“I’ve got about $30,000 into the surveying right now,” Beer said. “I’ve got everything ready to go to the engineers. I just can’t go to the engineers until I have my road approved.”
Roumell held firm, saying that the project had to go through Planning and Zoning and that the road needed to be built to the appropriate standard.
“I think you’re probably going to have to (overlay a two-inch hot mix),” Roumell said. “Because we haven’t allowed a subdivision to build without a road being paved over the top.”
“That’s fine,” Beer said. “We don’t have to discuss it no more because if I have to pave it I can’t do it, because I just can’t afford that much.”
Despite his apparent frustration, Beer doesn’t seem likely to stop the project just yet, and town representatives and employees made clear they want the subdivision to become a reality.
“I think it’s worth a lot of discussion to work it through,” Gilbert said.