Casper, WY Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)
Key Facts
- Commission size
- 3 to 11 members
- Members selected by
- Mayor, with council consent
- Member term
- 3 years, renewable
- Governing chapter
- Casper Municipal Code Ch. 2.40
- Designation requires
- City Council adoption vote
Summary
In the City of Casper, the nine-member Historic Preservation Commission created under Casper Municipal Code Section 2.40.050 inventories cultural resources and recommends locally significant sites for designation. Under Section 2.40.100, the commission compiles a proposed list of districts, buildings, structures or sites meeting National Register criteria and submits it to the Casper City Council, which votes on whether to adopt the designation.
2.40.050 - Historic preservation commission—Created—Membership. There is hereby created the city of Casper historic preservation commission, which shall consist of at least three and no more than eleven members. Members shall be selected by the mayor, by and with the consent of the majority vote of the city council. ... 2.40.100 - Local cultural resources designated. Based upon the cultural resource inventory, the commission shall complete a proposed list of districts, buildings, structures or sites that meet the criteria for eligibility as specified herein and the Department of the Interior's criteria for the National Register of Historic Places. The commission shall propose a list of proposed designations of sites which have locally significant cultural resources, and submit the same to the city council, who will consider the list for adoption.
Full Breakdown
The commission may hold between three and eleven members, selected by the mayor with majority consent of the city council, drawn from varied backgrounds to reflect the city's diverse heritage, per Section 2.40.050. At least two members must work in history, archaeology, historic architecture, architecture, cultural geography, American civilization or planning under Section 2.40.060, and every member serves a three-year term, renewable, under Section 2.40.070, without compensation beyond council-approved expense reimbursement under Section 2.40.080. Under Section 2.40.090, the commission conducts cultural resource inventories, recommends designation criteria compatible with the National Register program, and compiles a list titled The Proposed Locally Recognized Historic and Archeological Sites of the City of Casper, Wyoming.
That inventory must stay publicly accessible except for fragile archaeological data, and copies go to the State Historic Preservation Officer in Cheyenne. Section 2.40.100 then has the commission forward its proposed designation list to the city council, which alone can adopt it; the chapter grants the council separate authority under Section 2.40.110 to adopt and amend implementing rules by resolution. Casper participates in this work through the Wyoming Certified Local Government Program under Section 2.40.040. Chapter 2.40 sets no fee, permit or fine tied to a property's proposed status; only formal council adoption gives a resource an official local designation.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 2.40 carries no fine schedule of its own: the historic preservation commission only inventories and proposes sites, and a property owner faces no citation, permit trigger, or civil penalty under this chapter merely because a resource sits on the commission's proposed list. Only the city council's separate adoption vote under Section 2.40.100 gives a site official local recognition, and any binding development restriction would come from a distinct zoning designation, not this chapter's text.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides if a property becomes a Casper local landmark?
How many people sit on the Historic Preservation Commission?
Do commission members get paid?
Does a proposed designation restrict what an owner can do with the property?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Casper
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