City outlines timeline and engagement for Forge Laramie comprehensive‑plan update
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Summary
City planning staff and consultants briefed council on Forge Laramie: three rounds of engagement completed/underway, a Forge Exchange open mid‑January through March, 48 stakeholder interviews done, technical analyses prepared, and a public‑hearing draft targeted for later this year with adoption aimed for 2026.
City planning staff and their consultants told the Laramie City Council Tuesday that the Forge Laramie comprehensive‑plan update has moved from initial engagement and technical analysis into a drafting phase informed by robust community input.
Philip Gabatula (planning division) and consultant Leanne King said the process began with a kickoff and stakeholder interviews and that the project team has now entered phase three with second‑round engagement at the Forge Exchange. “The Forge Laramie comprehensive plan is intended to serve as Laramie’s road map for the next 20 years,” Gabatula said, listing housing, transportation, economic development and land use among the topics the plan will guide.
King said the team has completed 48 stakeholder interviews, three steering committee meetings and an initial round of public workshops, and has produced an existing‑conditions and trends report and a 2007 plan assessment. She described five themes that emerged from the first round of engagement—downtown vitality, safer connections, an outdoors identity, protecting natural and community spaces, and family‑friendly amenities—and encouraged the public to visit the Forge Exchange in the Laramie Main Street office to provide input; the exchange opened mid‑January and will remain open through March.
The technical analysis included demographic and housing data: staff cited a state projection that Laramie could grow roughly 10% (about 3,300 people) by 2040, and noted housing prices have risen by more than 50% since 2013 with a marked loss of lower‑priced inventory. King said the team will begin assembling draft plan chapters and aims to circulate a public‑hearing draft later this year with an adoption target in 2026.
Councilors thanked staff for the outreach and asked about sharing materials and involving youth and other stakeholders; staff said they will send calendar invites for upcoming open houses and continue to coordinate with the steering committee and partner organizations.
The council took no regulatory action; the presentation provided an update on schedule, engagement methods and draft topics to be incorporated into the forthcoming plan chapters.