Laramie’s City Council met on Tuesday and discussed a housing study that could change zoning rules that affect student housing. Before the meeting was officially called to order Lonnie Dickson of Hanna: Keelan Associates, P.C. presented updates on the Housing Study that is currently being conducted.
Dickson said that listening session have been held and sitting down and listening to their thoughts on where the city’s been and where the city is going is the main concern in the sessions.
Councilmember Hanson asked Dickson if the study team has been doing research on how housing has been turned into apartments and multi-family living quarters.
Charlie Bloom, senior city planner, said over the phone that several different residential districts only allow single-family housing. There are several other zones that allow for multi-family housing. An area often referred to as the “tree zone” is an area that allows for multi-family housing.
“[Homes] may have been carved into apartments in the 60’s before zoning even existed,” said Dickson over the phone.
In the study, the team will discover weather or not it may be more economically viable for property owners to sell their multi-family homes to be turned into single-family homes once again or to do the transition themselves while keeping their property.
“This housing study is intended to be an inventory of what we have now and what we will have in the next 5, 10, 15 years,” said Bloom.
Bloom said the team is going to study all aspects of housing in Laramie including students housing situations on and off campus.
Dickson said surveys are going to be disbursed in the next 2 to 3 weeks to further the housing study research. Many of the surveys may have an incentive of attached to them if completed, said Bloom.
During the public hearing portion of the meeting, representatives from Western Research Institute (WRI) asked for support on their 2014 Business Ready Community grant loan application to help fund WRI’s campus expansion.
A new facility will be built about one mile north of city limits on Third Street.
“It’s not just a new home, but a culture change,” said project architect Matt Tredennic. “It’s making the company more adaptable.”
WRI is currently housed in old Bureau of Mines buildings at different locations around Laramie, the main building is on the west end of UW’s campus, said Coorprate Communications Manager Chavawn Kelley.
The WRI was started in 1924 when the government set up a facility to study petroleum. It has evolved into what is today after becoming a private operation in 1983, said Kelley.
The company is aggressively shifting to commercial work in Wyoming, said Kelley. WRI does work for several people all around the nation and has an international reputation.
Dan Furphy, President and CEO of Laramie Economic and Development Corporation, said the number one reason the grant should be funded was job creation.
He said it will potentially add new businesses to Laramie and there would finally be landscape options to the north side of town.
Regular city council meetings are held in city hall every other Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The agenda and agenda items can be found at cityoflaramie.com.
