CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Cheyenne community members looking to buy building permits for historical preservation or affordable housing projects will now be able to get reimbursed by the city.
City Council members unanimously passed an ordinance on third reading allowing the incentivization program during their Monday meeting.
In 2018, the City Council approved an ordinance that would create an exception fee for building permits purchased in the downtown area. Monday’s ordinance is an extension to that code. The ordinance was inspired by an Affordable Housing Task Force recommendation from 2022 and first brought before the council in August.
The reimbursement covers building permit fees of up to $5,000 for single-family projects and $10,000 for multi-family ones. Historic preservation projects can be refunded up to $5,000. In order for projects to qualify for reimbursement, they must be located within the Program Project Area or be a historic structure in a historic district, or provide housing that is income-restricted to at least 80% of median income.
During the meeting, two community leaders voiced support for the ordinance.
“We don’t have much of this in the city, or state in that matter, so any small opportunity is always a win,” said Stephanie Lowe, cultural resources specialist for the Wyoming Department of Transportation.
Dan Dorsch, vice chair of the Cheyenne Affordable Housing Task Force and executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Laramie County, expressed a similar sentiment. Habitat of Humanity is planning to build dozens of new affordable housing units in the city on 2.7 acres of blighted property on 714 E. 15th St.
“[I] support this as a tool in the tool belt to help us solve our housing crisis,” he said during the meeting.
