Planning commissioners approve 8-foot security fences with barbed wire at two Laramie water sites

The Laramie Planning Commission voted to approve an 8-foot security fence topped with three strands of barbed wire at two city water facilities, commissioners confirmed at a short meeting.

Jay Smith, who identified himself as a member of the City of Laramie Utility Division, told the commission the fencing proposals for the Grant Street Pump Station and the Zone 2 Storage Facility follow recommendations from the American Water Works Association and Homeland Security, and are intended to protect vulnerable infrastructure. "These are important pieces of infrastructure within the city, and I would — I beg for your approval," Smith said.

Smith described the Grant Street site as roughly 410 feet and planned for three strands of barbed wire with one man gate and one full-size gate. He said the Zone 2 tanks site was about 1,025 feet with plans for 8-foot-tall fencing, three strands of barbed wire and two full-size gates. Smith said the city had performed a risk assessment with Homeland Security about two years earlier to prioritize projects and that some sites already have internal security systems.

Commissioners asked why similar protections had not been installed earlier and whether other pump stations — including the North Tank pump station, Indian Hills and sites on Worcester Drive — would eventually be fenced. Smith said some locations are protected by building security or motion detectors, and other sites will require tailored solutions because of neighborhood context, easements or logistics. Staff cautioned that contractor availability limits how many fencing projects can be completed in a 12-month period.

A commissioner moved to approve "a request by the City of Laramie to allow for an 8 foot security fence with a barbed wire on top to allow for securing our water supply in two locations at Grant Street Pump Station and at the Zone 2 Storage Facility." Another commissioner seconded; commissioners then voted "aye" and the motion carried. At the start of the meeting the clerk had recorded four commissioners present and three absent.

During discussion commissioners and staff also raised the possibility of a code text amendment to exempt security improvements for critical infrastructure from routine Planning Commission review so those projects could proceed more quickly; staff said they had begun discussing such an amendment for a future package.

The commission approved the fencing request and heard no public comment on the item. Chair closed the meeting shortly afterward.