CASPER, Wyo. — Casper is seeing some increased use of shipping containers, also known as C-Cans, popping up around the community both for storage purposes and as design features as part of new businesses.

Black Tooth Brewing’s new business in the Old Yellowstone District, for instance, includes an orange shipping container matching some colors in its logo in the courtyard area of its David Street–facing front. That C-Can has been adapted for use as a dispensing area to serve bar patrons on a seasonal basis.

In terms of storage applications, C-Cans are sometimes used on construction sites, and there are also examples of shipping containers being utilized for more long-term storage purposes.

As City of Casper ordinances don’t specifically address the topic of C-Cans, city staff asked the Casper City Council on Tuesday to think about and provide some direction as to how members think shipping containers should be allowed in residential and commercial settings.

With some ambiguity in the ordinances in regards to shipping containers, Chief Building Official Dan Elston said city staff have worked to point people wanting to use C-Cans for storage purposes to general storage requirements that might apply.

In terms of short-term use of shipping containers for storage, the city does not require a specific permit but allows their use provided a contractor has obtained appropriate building permits for a construction project, Elston told the City Council.

When it comes to longer-term storage structures, city ordinances require foundation pads for structures 120 square feet or larger, Elston said.

In terms of residential applications, vertical metal siding structures are not allowed under Casper’s rules. While Casper’s ordinances don’t specifically address whether shipping containers could be used as habitable space, Elston said the International Code Council has adopted rules for intermodal shipping containers and set standards for things like plumbing, ventilation and lighting.

He noted that people sometimes mistake modular construction applications for shipping containers, pointing to the design of something like the Starbucks in downtown Casper.

There are also questions about aesthetics when shipping containers are used. Elston pointed to an example along East Yellowstone Highway where someone has placed a Quonset hut over two shipping containers with space for a vehicle to park under the Quonset hut. He said that application is not particularly appealing visually. City Manager Carter Napier noted during the work session that this application might be in violation of existing ordinances in Casper.

As the council considers possible rules for shipping containers, Elston asked that members think about whether a limit on the number of shipping containers used in a long-term storage application might be appropriate.

Vice Mayor Bruce Knell said there is a new restaurant in Gillette built out of C-Cans.

“It looks kind of cool,” he said.

When it comes to residential settings, Knell said he thinks there should be some regulations as allowing people to place them for storage purposes might detract from the visual appeal of a neighborhood. He noted that the city already prohibits things like abandoned property in residential areas.

“To be used as storage in a residential area, I would be vehemently opposed,” Knell said. “I don’t think anybody wants them in their neighborhood.”

Councilmember Amber Pollock said her family’s business utilizes shipping containers for storage purposes. Backwards Distilling Co.’s distillery is located in an industrial area in Mills. Pollock said that given the industrial nature of the area, she thinks shipping containers “hardly register as to what is most unsightly in the area.”

The containers have been particularly useful amid supply chain issues as Backwards has ordered extra quantities of things it uses to try and avoid delays, Pollock told the council. As shipping containers can be useful for storage purposes and don’t necessarily detract from aesthetics in industrial areas, Pollock suggested that if the council moves forward with regulations, it should be done in a way that is sensitive to zoning in different parts of town.

She added that there should be some consideration that not all C-Cans are alike visually.

“Some look like they’ve been on a literal boat on the ocean, which they have,” she said. “And then some look like they are fresh off the manufacturing line.”

Pollock said that if the city staff and the City Council want to create a good policy for use of shipping containers, there are a lot of questions to address, and she thinks it “could be quite a long process to get this right.”

Councilmember Jai-Ayla Southerland said that C-Cans have sometimes been considered for commercial purposes in places where it is hard to dig into the ground. In Casper, she pointed to areas around the old Amoco plant and places along the North Platte River where people might be interested in using shipping containers due to difficulty digging into the ground.

Pollock also said she thinks the City Council should consider an exemption process that would allow people wanting to use a C-Can in an area that rules might otherwise prohibit to obtain special permission after showing how their proposed use would be an enhancement rather than a detraction from the area.

Councilmember Lisa Engebretsen said there might be ways people want to use shipping containers in residential settings to create things like backyard bars.

“Pinterest has all kinds of ideas,” she said.

Provided such uses are done with proper setbacks, Engebretsen suggested she thinks those kind of things should be allowed. Knell said aesthetically pleasing applications would be OK with him in residential settings and he thinks Pollock’s suggestion of an exemption process is a good idea.

When it comes to the use of shipping containers as part of a commercial design, Napier said that that is handled through the building permit process and that C-Cans can be allowed provided they are incorporated in a way that is up to code.

While Tuesday marked the first time the City Council has discussed C-Cans together during a work session, city staff brought up the topic during a Downtown Development Authority Board meeting in September. In addition to some of the questions discussed at the work session, staff talked about potential fire hazards depending on what material someone might be storing in a shipping container long-term or if shipping containers were to be used for tiny home–type purposes.

After the DDA meeting in September, Oil City News talked with Lyle Murtha, principal architect at Stateline No. 7, outside of the Black Tooth brewery on Sept. 16. While Stateline conducted designs for the remodel of The Nolan where Black Tooth is located, Murtha noted that Black Tooth has its own architect and the C-Can in the courtyard was something the brewery wanted to do.

Murtha noted that the C-Can has been adapted to serve customers seasonally.

“It is no longer a C-Can,” he said. “It is a bar. It is plumbed in, it has got sinks and everything.”

The serving window is one of the main modifications made to the C-Can at Black Tooth.

“It was painted purposely to match the Black Tooth colors,” Murtha added.

As Murtha is a big advocate for repurposing materials, he said he likes Black Tooth’s decision to give new life to an old C-Can rather than going into a landfill somewhere.

“From that perspective I love it as an idea,” Murtha said.

In terms of Stateline’s contributions to the design of both The Nolan and David Street Station, pillars that look like I-Beams are part of the designs as a tribute to the industrial history of the area. Murtha talked more about this when Oil City News spoke with him about a range of Stateline-designed projects this spring.

Conversation about tribute to industry was part of the conversation behind the decision to incorporate the C-Can at Black Tooth, Murtha said.

If Casper were nearer to a shipping port, Murtha said he thinks the area would be more likely to see more use of shipping containers in designs. While that isn’t the case, when a shipping container does wind up in Wyoming, it makes sense to him to find ways to repurpose it.

In terms of city staff concerns about potential fire hazards related to long-term storage, Murtha said he thinks those are justified as a container storing a lot of combustibles and flammables could be a big concern if a unit isn’t monitored. The same concern doesn’t necessarily apply when containers are used short-term at construction sites as such sites are monitored not only by construction company staff but also city building officials, Murtha said.

In terms of C-Cans used as part of a design, Murtha noted that the one at Black Tooth is part of the building, which has an occupancy certificate, and will get an annual inspection from not only the fire department but also from the Casper-Natrona County Health Department due to the C-Can being plumbed and fitted for serving.

With the city raising questions as to whether C-Cans should be regulated aesthetically, Murtha said that that could lead to pushback from the community.

“People in Wyoming don’t like to be told what to do,” he said.

As an architect, Murtha said that he advocates for people using the services of design professionals, but that he understands not everyone wants to spend money to hire a design professional to consider aesthetic questions.

Murtha said that he is not necessarily opposed to some type of architectural design review process if the public is open to that. However, he said that he doesn’t want to see anything overly restrictive of what can or can’t be done for aesthetic reasons and that historical attempts to restrict the aesthetics of how people build things in Casper haven’t fared well.

When it comes to commercial applications, Murtha added that he thinks people will vote with their wallet in regards to the aesthetics of a building. If people really think something is ugly, they won’t patronize the business.

Murtha said he prefers to have freedom from too many restrictions over what can or can’t be incorporated into designs for aesthetic reasons. However, he said he can understand why city staff would want to start the conversation about shipping containers and possible regulations. Once shipping containers get used, that sets a precedent that others not only might imitate but could also point to in the future if the city were to want to disallow some use.

“I don’t mind them having the discussion but I want to be a part of that discussion for sure,” Murtha said.

Whatever happens in regards to new aesthetic regulations, Murtha said he hopes to see some consistency and questioned whether C-Cans should be singled out in the conversation while other things like pre-engineered metal buildings aren’t.

“If we start regulating C-Cans, why aren’t we regulating everything?” Murtha asked.

On Tuesday, Napier said city staff would use the feedback Casper City Council members provided to begin drafting proposed rules for C-Cans.

A staff memo provides further details regarding the topic:

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