Board to consider liquor license transfer, Remove the 'C' (2024)

The Natrona County Board of Commissioners may be feeling a bit of deja vu on Tuesday.

Two proposals before the board are familiar topics: a request to transfer the liquor license once held by Racks strip club back to that location; and a request to change the county’s zoning regulations that would effectively block mining in areas zoned Mountain Residential on and near Casper Mountain.

A year and a half ago, Natrona County commissioners approved the transfer of a full-retail liquor license to Mile High Tight Ends from the now-defunct Racks strip club on Highway 20-26.

The license transfer to Mile High Tight Ends was approved with the stipulation that former Racks owner Sonny Pilcher, who pled guilty to tax fraud in 2014 and served a year in prison, would have nothing to do with the new business. The approval also stipulated the business wouldn’t be a strip club.

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Last month, commissioners rejected a transfer of the license back to the location of the maybe-not-so-defunct Racks, 1910 Talc Road, for BFS Official.

On Tuesday, the board will consider a new request to transfer the liquor license back to that location, also for BFS Official, doing business as Luxe.

Last month, the board unanimously rejected the application, saying that they need more information about what the business would be, and what Pilcher’s role would be, if any.

Applicant Logan Coffman told the board that he wasn’t sure what kind of business it might become, but a “gentleman’s club” was a possibility. He also said Pilcher might be involved, possibly as a manager.

The 31-year-old Casper native said he didn’t have a business plan, but was considering his options first. He said he has a private investor, but refused to say who it is. Asked if that person was Pilcher, he replied, “absolutely not.”

Coffman assured the board that Pilcher would not have any ownership role in the business.

Coffman said he has a lease for the 1910 Talc property, which is owned by owned by Wyoming Secure Properties LLC, Lisa A. Burridge, agent.

Before Racks closed, Pilcher confirmed that motorcycle gangs from Colorado had been involved in the club’s operations, including recruiting dancers from out of state.

Commissioners noted the scarcity of liquor licenses and said they have a duty to make sure the licenses issued benefit the community.

The liquor license transfer is the latest chapter in the strip club’s saga.

In 2013, 24-year-old James “Kade” Baldwin was shot to death in the Racks parking lot. A Pennsylvania man was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison.

Speaking in opposition to the transfer request, attorney Steve Winship said the property is still set up for a strip club. He said commissioners need to know who’s investing in the business because of Racks’ involvement with the Outlaws motorcycle gang.

Winship noted that he is still involved in litigation dealing with the former strip club.

Stopping mining on Casper Mountain

In a 4-1 vote last week, the Natrona County Planning and Zoning Commission rejected a proposal that would disallow mining on much of the face of Casper Mountain.

The proposal would block mining by removing it from a list of acceptable uses for land zoned “mountain residential.” As Planning and Zoning is only an advisory board, the proposal moves to the county commissioners without a recommendation to approve the plan.

Currently, mining is allowed on mountain residential land under a conditional use permit. Gregg Werger’s request would remove that possibility.

About 15 people spoke in favor of the request at the board meeting.

Werger told the board the conditional use wasn’t in previous iterations of the zoning resolution but managed to show up in the one adopted in 2022.

“Mysteriously, that ‘C’ was put in there,” Werger said referring to how the conditional use is noted in a table in the zoning regulations. “I believe that was put in there and no one even noticed it.”

He said people weren’t given a chance to object to the change, either.

Prism Logistics CEO Kyle True, whose company seeks to create a gravel mine on a section of School Trust land on Coates Road, told Planning and Zoning that there are several reasons to not change the current zoning. He said the measure could be considered a “taking” as those who want to develop extractive industries on their land would be prohibited from doing so.

“There are well over a dozen, maybe 15 ranches in this area,” True said. “I’ve spoken to four private property owners who would like our company, Prism Logistics, to come and develop their gravel resource. When we can, there is an interest of people in doing so.”

True said there’s already plenty of regulation, including the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, to oversee the permitting process.

Interim County Planner Shawn Gustafson said county staff recommended denying the amendment. He said extractive industries are not permitted “by right” in any zoning district within the county.

The current process “allows a variety of beneficial factors to be addressed on a case-by-case basis while considering potential deterrents and negative consequences,” the staff report stated.

Planning and Zoning board members Chad McNutt, Ray Schulte, Kemper and chairman Hal Hutchinson voted to keep with the staff recommendation, and agreed that the existing process allows flexibility without sacrificing private property rights.

The lone dissenter was Robert Grant, who said the conditional use didn’t belong in the zoning resolution.

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Board to consider liquor license transfer, Remove the 'C' (2024)
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