Planning commission approves Range Coffee wholesale roasting permit for downtown Second Street

The Laramie Planning Commission voted 7-0 Feb. 10 to approve a conditional use permit for Range Coffee to operate a small-batch wholesale roasting operation at 313 South Second Street, in the downtown commercial (DC) zoning district.

Commission staff presented the application as a wholesale coffee-roasting operation that sits within an existing mixed retail/commercial block downtown. Philip, planning division staff, told commissioners the property occupies the full lot, uses on-street parking and an alleyway for loading and refuse, and meets building-code and ADA requirements. He said the use is treated as a wholesale activity under the municipal code and therefore required a CUP within DC.

Staff recommended approval after reviewing required criteria in Laramie Municipal Code, including ingress/egress, utilities, refuse, screening, and signage. Philip said lighting and sign permits were submitted separately and were under review. He noted staff had received one inquiry from a nearby business about odor but said other downtown roasters do not operate around the clock and any intermittent smell is typical for the area.

An applicant representative described the proposed operations as primarily serving the café’s retail side and a limited wholesale channel. The applicant said the roaster is a 15-kilogram machine, “so we can do 30 pounds of coffee at a time,” and described the unit as an efficient model with an afterburner designed to reduce emissions. The applicant also said they expect to roast infrequently — perhaps “one day a week” initially — and that the roaster vents through the roof.

Commissioners asked how the roaster vents would affect odor at street level; the applicant and staff said the roaster vents through the roof and that the equipment’s emissions controls and afterburner would limit street-level smell. Staff also noted state food-safety inspections will apply to the wholesaling portion of the operation.

Commissioner Matamore moved to approve the permit “based on findings of fact and conclusions of law and subject to all staff’s recommended conditions”; a second was recorded. Roll call votes were recorded as: Pacino — aye; Evans — aye; Matamore — aye; Heiser White — aye; O’Toole — aye; Schneider — aye; Moody — aye. The motion carried 7 yes, 0 no.

The permit approval allows the wholesale roasting activity to operate at the downtown address under the conditions in staff’s findings. Staff said permits for signage and final plan details remain subject to separate administrative review.