Ordinance Limiting Gambling in Downtown District Presented to Council

City Attorney Brendon Kerns presented the details of Ordinance 2250 to the Sheridan City Council and Mayor Rich Bridger at the recent Council study session. The Ordinance pertains to limiting gambling in the Downtown District. According to Kerns, the ordinance is a proposed zoning change that would prevent gambling for B-1 zoned properties in the Downtown District and limit gambling to six devices in areas zoned B-2 in the Downtown District. Furthermore, B-1 and B-2 zoned properties outside of the downtown district would be unaffected and none of the properties within the Downtown District would be in violation of the ordinance and the State Gaming Commission has reported that they have no pending applications for Sheridan.

Kerns explained one of the complexities that played a role in crafting the proposed ordinance centered around a letter Governor Mark Gordon sent to the Wyoming Senate in early March.

Mayor Bridger said the proposed Ordinance is not set in stone.

A memo provided to the Council from Kerns states that the Ordinance is only intended to be a two-year moratorium. On December 31, 2024, the Ordinance would automatically expire unless Council approved a new ordinance. The purpose of the moratorium is to provide the Wyoming Legislature the opportunity to address this matter and to give City staff the ability to fully evaluate this issue. This freeze is intended to be temporary to allow everyone the opportunity to fully explore this issue and avoid an unfortunate situation of materially altering the Downtown District because of a lack of foresight.