Where Thayne's Next Homes Will Come From, Now That Hemmert Ranch Is Back to Square One

If you want a smaller house on a lot inside Thayne's town limits, can you build one? Under the code as it reads today, probably not as small as you'd like. The Town of Thayne's posted code sets a minimum livable floor area of 1,200 square feet in its A-R-1 provision, and it also caps that floor area at no more than 30% of the lot size. That posted code edition is current only through Ordinance 395, which passed in 2024. The town is now working on a change.

That minimum matters more than it would in most towns, because Thayne's only large source of new lots stalled this year. For the next stretch, homes in town will come from individual lots and from whatever a few pieces of infrastructure allow. Those pieces are a sewer lagoon, a sewer extension still collecting easement signatures, and a floor-area ordinance still in draft.

The Subdivision That Would Have Quadrupled the Town

The Hemmert Ranch Subdivision was planned for 113 acres east of Family Dollar, with 184 lots. In January 2026 the Star Valley Independent reported the project had been canceled, after three years of preparation and review. In the same article, the SVI wrote that Mayor Devin Simpson had said the project could quadruple the size of Thayne. It also quoted his earlier remarks on how the project would pay for itself:

"They will pay impact fees when they start building houses, so that will help offset future growth so we can have our system where it needs to be."

So the plan did two jobs at once. It would have supplied lots, and its fees would have helped expand the system that serves those lots. When the project stopped, both jobs stopped.

At the September 16, 2026 council meeting, the mayor described where things stand. The property has gone through bankruptcy, and all of its development entitlements have expired, so any new application starts from scratch. The minutes describe two paths for the note holder, either letting foreclosure run through a 13-month escrow period, during which nothing can happen, or taking over the existing LLC. The town can't grant approvals until the investor holds the deed. The minutes put the earliest possible action at 13 months from about two weeks before that meeting. That points to roughly October 2027. The minutes also say it isn't clear whether the investor plans to develop the land or sell it.

There is one faster path. According to the same minutes, road design was the main open issue in the earlier entitlement talks, and if the road plans stay the same, getting new approvals could go more quickly. Even then, a new approval is only the first step before lots exist, roads go in, and houses get built.

How Much Room the Sewer Has

If 184 new homes aren't coming soon, the next question is how much the town's existing system can absorb. The September 16 public hearing on the Thayne Wastewater Lagoon Repair and Improvement Project answered that directly. Robert Hood of Sunrise Engineering said the system is permitted for 140,000 gallons per day and runs at about 90,000. That leaves about 50,000 gallons per day of excess capacity.

Hood said groundwater leaking into the collection lines adds to that 90,000-gallon figure. Fixing that leakage is part of the project, and he said it would extend the system's effective capacity. Some of the headroom, in other words, comes from repairing pipes, with no new treatment added.

The project is a rehabilitation. Hood said much of the lagoon equipment was installed about 12 to 13 years ago and has reached the end of its useful life, and that the system does not currently need a capacity increase. Engineers looked at building a new mechanical treatment plant and recommended rehabilitating the existing lagoons instead, which would extend their useful life by about 20 years. The lagoons don't discharge into the Salt River or Flat Creek. Effluent moves through four cells, and the last cell evaporates and percolates into the ground.

For funding, the town is applying for a State Revolving Fund loan of about $483,000 and is eligible for 75% principal forgiveness. Hood noted that the forgiveness amount may be negotiated, because the state now reviews all applicants together instead of first come, first served. The application was due October 3 and was expected to be heard at the February SRF meeting.

So Thayne is spending money to keep its current system working longer and to reclaim some capacity by fixing leaks. That fits the outlook Mayor Simpson described at the town's annual public forum. The Star Valley Independent reported that he said recent studies show Thayne can accommodate growth as long as it happens gradually.

Where the Pipe Goes Next

Gradual growth still needs pipe in the ground, and the North Sewer Line is the next extension. In June 2025 the council recorded a state-approved $975,000 loan for the North Sewer Project, with $693,750 of it in principal forgiveness. It also approved a $179,000 agreement with Sunrise Engineering for the line extension.

By September 16, 2026, the SRF had approved the project to go out for bids. The town was holding off on advertising until it had every easement signature from the affected homeowners, and the final signature was expected soon. Sunrise Engineering's Kade Smith said he would contact the homeowners again. At the October forum, the SVI reported that the mayor said a sewer line planned for next year would help serve a potential development and improve the town's sewer system.

Here is how the pieces stood after the September 16 meeting:

The Hokanson Avenue sidewalk gives a sense of how long town infrastructure takes here. The SVI reported it started as a request from a 10-year-old at the previous year's forum. The September minutes describe it as a roughly $600,000 project with a 93% grant. The town's share is about $55,000, consultant selection falls in fiscal year 2027, bidding comes at the end of 2027, and construction begins in 2028. If a sidewalk takes that long, any change that adds homes is likely to take years as well.

The Rule That Shapes the House Itself

With few new lots coming, the size rule decides what kind of house goes on the lots that do come up. At the September meeting, Mayor Simpson previewed the draft of Ordinance 409. It keeps the current 1,200-square-foot main-floor minimum and adds a second option:

1. A main floor of at least 900 square feet
2. At least 1,500 square feet of combined livable area
3. A required two-car garage

According to the minutes, the garage requirement is there "to ensure architectural integrity and avoid the proliferation of plain square structures." The ordinance wasn't ready for first reading in September because of time and was expected at the next council meeting.

The new option would allow a smaller footprint on the ground. That could matter on a narrow in-town lot, or for someone who wants a two-story plan with less main-floor area. The option also sets a 1,500-square-foot floor on combined livable area and makes a two-car garage mandatory, so a single-story home built under it would need at least 1,500 square feet on that one floor. The draft makes room mainly for a different shape of house, such as a two-story plan. Until the ordinance has gone through its readings, the 1,200-square-foot rule is the one that applies, and the numbers in the draft could still change.

This is general information and not legal, tax or financial advice. Before you buy a lot or commit to a building plan, check the current ordinance and your own situation with the Town of Thayne and the right professional.

What This Means for an In-Town Lot

Put these together and you get the outlook for anyone looking at Thayne in the next year or so. The largest planned block of new lots can't get town approvals until about October 2027 at the earliest, and whoever owns it then may build it or sell it. The sewer system has about 50,000 gallons per day of headroom. Repairs are aimed at extending its life and recovering capacity lost to leaking pipes, with no expansion planned. The next sewer extension was approved to bid and was waiting on easement signatures. And the size rule a new home has to meet was being redrafted.

For an existing lot already on town water and sewer, the main questions are what the size rule allows on it and how big the footprint can be under the 30% cap. A lot near the planned North Sewer Line depends on when that pipe goes in. The Hemmert Ranch acreage probably won't affect anyone's purchase this year.

FAQ

Is Hemmert Ranch dead for good? As of the September 16, 2026 council meeting, its entitlements had expired and any new application would start over. The mayor said the process could move faster if the earlier road plans stay the same, and that it isn't clear whether the investor will develop the land or sell it.

Does the lagoon project add sewer capacity? It's a rehabilitation meant to extend the system's life by about 20 years. Fixing groundwater leaks into the lines is expected to extend effective capacity beyond the current 50,000 gallons per day of headroom.

Has Ordinance 409 passed? At the September 16 meeting it was not yet ready for first reading. Check with the Town of Thayne for its current status before you plan a home around the 900-square-foot option.

At Speakman Realty Group, our office is right here in Thayne, and we follow these council decisions closely. If you're looking at an in-town lot or planning a build, contact us. We'll help you find out what that lot is cleared for and how close it is to sewer service before you make an offer.