Park County commissioners on the record approved a special‑use permit for the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation to operate a root‑cellar exhibit ancillary to the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center.

Planning staff summarized the application as an existing 12,000‑square‑foot underground root cellar, of which the foundation will use about 6,000 square feet for an exhibit. The property sits in the GRP zoning district; county staff classified the proposal as a major community use and said planning and agency notices were completed. Staff noted that Park County Public Works recommends a drainage and erosion control plan, that a BNSF permit may be required for access on Vocation Lane and that evidence of electrical service capacity from Garland Light and Power must be provided before the use begins.

Logan Christie, director of operations for the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, told the board the foundation currently performs shared maintenance of Vocation Lane under a local, informal agreement and that the foundation does not intend to plow the lane in winter. “We maintain basically the road up to the seller access,” Christie said, and described the exhibit layout and supervised access designed to limit crowding.

Commissioners discussed access, possible BNSF permitting and parking requirements. County staff said the plans show 30 parking spaces by strict calculation, but the applicant requested a reduction to 18; staff said the regulations allow up to a 50% reduction and that 18 spaces appeared adequate and would include bus turnaround. The motion adopted by the board included staff recommendations and two edits requested by commissioners: (1) explicitly approving a 6,000‑square‑foot exhibit rather than the full 12,000‑square‑foot cellar and (2) limiting associated parking to 18 spaces.

The board’s approval included standard conditions: compliance with Park County development standards and regulations (2015), submission and county approval of a drainage and erosion control plan, evidence that Garland Light and Power can serve the site, shared maintenance of the access lane, screening and maintenance of portable toilets if used, and obtaining any required sign or wastewater permits.

Next steps: staff will update the permit documents to reflect the agreed changes and return the finalized permit to the county file. The applicant must secure any required third‑party permits (for example, from BNSF or Garland Light and Power) before commencing the use.