A planner for the City of Laramie tried to clarify community members concerns over the re-platting of LaBonte Park area during the Planning Commission meeting on Monday.
The park is currently divided into 104 lots. Officials proposed a redrawing of the land into nine larger lots arranged in such a way as to fit the landscape in its present form.
Citizens were invited to attend the meeting and present their opinions on the proposal. Several of the attendees expressed confusion at what officials sought to accomplish with the re-plat. Planners said comments from the public expressed concern the project was for new residential developments.
Charles Bloom, Senior Planner for the City of Laramie Community Development Department, said the origin of the confusion was a miscommunication.
“I believe that some residents are confused because they see the word ‘subdivision’ and automatically jump to the conclusion that that means ‘development’. In this case, it’s just a re-plat,” he said.
The size of the park, Bloom said, would remain fully intact.
“Staff has received numerous comments, easily 40 to 50, regarding this subdivision since the notice went out two weeks ago,” Bloom said. “Most of the comments were in regards to a fear that the park was being subdivided for condominium or residential development. I assure you that is not the case. The park is not shrinking in size as a result of this plat and there are no changes proposed to the park itself.”
Many of the claims that the proposal would affect the park came from the way various subdivisions are titled, Bloom said. The subdivision containing LaBonte Park, along with the city-owned buildings along 4th Street, is titled the “Lakefront Subdivision.” The area on the northern side of Shields Street is titled the “LaBonte Park Addition.” Maps of the area available to the public on the City of Laramie’s website. The “LaBonte Park Addition” in no way contains any part of LaBonte Park, Bloom said.
Some citizens expressed worry when they saw the ‘Labonte Park Addition’ map features housing developments. Cheryl Wood, who attended the meeting, said that there were inconsistencies in the dimensions of the maps on the city website.
“I guess the thing that’s confusing me is when you look at the map of the park, it’s rectangular shaped,” she said. “When you look at what they’re doing, it turns into a square, which means part of this park is not going to be here. From what I’m looking at, you’re eliminating an entire ball diamond and you’re eliminating the bike path.”
Wood also called for a more clear representation of the goals of the proposal.
“They should have better maps. They should be able to show us exactly what they’re talking about without a bunch of confusing double talk,” she said.
Bloom tried to clarify the city’s position, when he said LaBonte Park will not be shrinking in any way. Rather, there are plans for future growth.
“Some improvements that are coming in the future of LaBonte park, whenever funding is allocated by the council, include the paving of some parking lots in the dirt areas and closing off of the street that connects 7th to 5th street,” he said.
