The annexation of 24.3 acres of empty land into West Laramie and its development into homes and apartments has been approved by the Laramie City Council, with its third and final reading passing at its regular meeting last week.
Council-member Charles McKinney was the only “no” vote on annexation, though council-member Jayne Pearce joined him in voting against the development as planned. Statements made by West Laramie residents during public comment, as well as in previous meetings and public hearings, were in opposition of the plan.
The addition of the land itself to West Laramie saw little dispute. All parties present agreed on the need for at least some development and increased availability of housing. Most division focused on the scale of the development and the plan to skip past lower-density residential zoning of the land and go up to R3, “multi-family” — the most dense residential zone rating. Some West Laramie residents and some council-members said housing changes should be more limited in order to keep with West Laramie’s rural environment and available infrastructure.
“I think the development is a good idea, I just think it’s too much — too many people in a pretty small area, and I think the developers could have maybe provided just a little more give to the neighbors,” Pearce said. “The neighbors are clearly upset, and I think we need to keep that in mind.”
“We are concerned that you are not honoring West Laramie values and, for whatever reason, ignoring the voice of the community,” West Laramie resident Reba Nordin said.
Matthew Cox, associate city planner, acknowledged concerns about the increase of density but said the growth was recommended by various economic and housing studies and plans.
Nordin, along with West Laramie resident Hope Dimit, also expressed concerns for the integrity of their well water, and have previously expressed concerns about other pollution runoff and potential impacts on their property and livestock. Cox has stated that city engineers are confident such issues won’t occur.
Dave Coffey, CEO of developer Coffey Engineering, said his company is prepared to put the necessary systems in place to ensure neighboring water and land is unaffected — and that if neighbors were so concerned about the use of the land, they could have bought it themselves. Coffey also said it should be kept in mind that these neighbors are residents of Albany County, not the city of Laramie itself.
Council-member Paul Weaver said much work remains to be done to develop the land and prevent impacts on adjacent land.
“We don’t want to ignore those concerns that are expressed, but there’s a great amount of planning and effort for this proposal that still hasn’t happened yet,” Weaver said. “There’s going to be engineering controls and various other aspects of the planning of the future construction … that should address many of those concerns in terms of ground water and things of that nature.”
Coffey said it was “entirely likely” land development could begin later this year and that it would “most definitely” be in progress by spring 2021. The intended plan for residential construction is not likely to change, Coffey said.
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