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Laramie council establishes $5 million housing enabling infrastructure program
Summary
The council approved a housing enabling infrastructure program and appropriated $5 million (2M general fund, 2M water fund, 1M wastewater fund) to the Economic Development Fund to help fund infrastructure for housing projects; staff said recapture terms will be negotiated per agreement and gave a hypothetical example of partial recovery via lot assessments.
The Laramie City Council voted July 7 to establish a housing enabling infrastructure program and appropriate $5 million to support municipal infrastructure for housing developments.
Councilor Lockhart moved and Richardson seconded the resolution authorizing the city manager to establish the formal program. The funding commitment — $2 million from the general fund, $2 million from the water fund and $1 million from the wastewater fund — had been set aside previously; the resolution appropriates those resources into the Economic Development Fund so the city can begin administering the program.
Assistant City Manager Jen Wade and city manager Todd Feazer described the program’s purpose: to provide financial assistance for municipal trunk infrastructure (water trunk lines, sewer trunk lines, roads, curbs, sidewalk and surface-water drainage) where developers otherwise face barriers to financing. Staff emphasized that the program will include revenue-recapture mechanisms negotiated on a per-agreement basis, not blanket donations, to return value to the funds that contributed.
As an illustrative example, staff said a hypothetical 25-lot development requiring $100,000 in infrastructure might target roughly 50% recovery from lot sales over time, resulting in per-lot recapture amounts collected at closing or via assessments. Councilors and public commenters including Schmeichel endorsed the program as a tool to reduce upfront developer costs and expand housing supply.
The motion carried 8–0 with one absent. Council directed staff and legal counsel to bring specific recapture terms and template agreements back to the council for approval as individual projects are negotiated.
