Council imposes 90‑day moratorium on new general contractor licenses and clarifies licensing rules

The Laramie City Council voted to impose a temporary 90‑day moratorium on accepting or issuing new general contractor licenses while the city amends municipal code language to clarify experience requirements for license classes.

Council also approved on first reading an ordinance amending Chapter 15.24 of the Laramie Municipal Code to clarify that required years of experience for each contractor license class must include a minimum portion demonstrating project work relevant to that license class (for example, a Class A license requires seven years overall with at least four years on projects showing Class A‑level skill and proficiency). The ordinance also clarifies the appeals path for license determinations to the Building & Fire Code Board of Appeals.

Director Tini said the moratorium responds to a recent licensing application that exposed ambiguous language in the code and that the proposed changes do not raise the total years of experience required but specify that part of the experience be in projects matching the class of license being sought. Public comment included Tom Matamore, a former general contractor, who urged the council to balance safety and competency requirements with practical realities of large projects that rely on specialty subcontractors and design professionals.

Action: Council adopted the moratorium and passed the ordinance on first reading; votes were recorded 5–0 (four absent). Staff and the building department will schedule contractor outreach meetings and finalize ordinance language for subsequent readings.