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Planning Department outlines staffing, review timelines and $235,000 request to update Plan Cheyenne's community character element
Summary
Planning Director Charles Bloomfield reviewed department structure, application volumes, expedited review timelines, OpenGov rollout and a one-time $235,000 request to update the community character element of Plan Cheyenne; council members asked about consultant history and timeline.
Charles Bloomfield, planning and development director, briefed the council on department operations, staffing and proposed one-time funding to finish the community character portion of Plan Cheyenne.
Bloomfield said the department has 15 employees, including planners assigned to current planning, long-range planning, parks and greenway planning, the MPO and supportive functions. He described the department's role as fiscal agent for the Metropolitan Planning Organization and said the department supports multiple boards and commissions including the historic preservation board and the brownfields committee. "We have 15 employees including myself and we have essentially 4 different groups," Bloomfield said.
Bloomfield described recent and upcoming planning work: the parks and recreation master plan was updated in February 2025, the transportation plan Connect 2045 is being updated for 2050, and the Unified Development Code (adopted in 2012) is amended annually based on user feedback. He said the planning team processed about 684 total applications in the last year (a roughly 6% decrease from the prior year) and that the department has split site plans into "full site plans" and "minor site plans" for faster administrative processing.
On review timelines, Bloomfield said the department aims to return first site-plan comments within 21 days, a second review within 10 days, and subsequent reviews within 7 days. He said conditional uses and variance reviews are targeted at about five weeks and that subdivision reviews are typically three to four months; he said Cheyenne's expedited plat process can cut about four months from subdivision timelines.
Bloomfield proposed a one-time $235,000 fund to complete the community character plan element of Plan Cheyenne. He described Plan Cheyenne as the city's long-range plan originating in 2006, with a community plan update in 2014 and other plan elements updated more recently. Bloomfield said the $235,000 cost is consistent with consultant estimates for a limited-scope update and that larger, comprehensive plan updates can be substantially more expensive.
Council members asked where the last contract had been let; Bloomfield said Clarion Associates (a Colorado-based planning firm) was contracted for the previous work. Council member Dr. Emmons asked whether the $235,000 price was typical; Bloomfield replied it was "pretty much right on par with what we would expect for the limited scope" and that larger plans can reach $380,000 to $400,000. Councilman Moody confirmed the request covered the plan update and community outreach.
Bloomfield also described OpenGov software implementation and said the system is improving efficiency and online payments for applicants. He noted several active projects including a greenway connection tied to the Microsoft data center and a downtown multifamily project expected to add about 101 units with a potential second phase of about 204 units on U.S. 30.
No council vote occurred on the proposed one-time plan fund at the meeting; Bloomfield said staff will seek letters of interest from consultants and proceed with procurement steps if the council supports the request in future action.
