Laramie County Commission To Consider New Land Use Plan On Tuesday

The Laramie County Commission is slated to consider a new Land Use Plan for rural areas of the county at it's meeting on Tuesday, August 5.

You can read more about the plan here.

The plan is controversial, with opponents saying it is intrusive and infringes on personal freedom. But supporters say much of the opposition is based on rumors and misinformation, and argue that if anything it affords residents more freedom than the current land use regulations in many cases.

On Saturday's Weekend in Wyoming program, we had both Julie Formby, a county resident who is concerned about the proposed plan, and Laramie County Planning and Development Program Manager Justin Arnold.

Julie Formby: Majority Are Against The Plan

Formby says one problem is that too many county residents have not been informed about the plan and says she is worried about the "intrusion of the county in your private business, in your home."

She says among country residents who would be affected only about one percent know about the plan "and this is a pretty big deal for one percent." She says she's not accusing the county of not trying to inform people "They've put forth a good faith effort....but people have lives. They don't have time to constantly be watching 'what is the government doing.'"

Formby says out of 264 comments on a county planning website comment form on the proposal, only four comments were in favor.

She says people opposed to the plan cited property rights. Formby said people who live in rural areas of Laramie County often do so because they "want to use their property as they see fit."

Justin Arnold Says New Plan Has Less Regulation

Arnold, in his interview commented that while Formby and other opponents have expressed health concerns about the plan allowing cell phone towers. But Arnold says federal law "says you absolutely cannot take into consideration micro frequency waves in approving or denying a cell tower if you are a local jurisdiction."

Arnold also says the new rules would make things easier for people who have a project application rejected. If that happens right now, the only appeal of the country decision is to go to court. But Arnold says the new regulations, if approved, would let applicants bring forward a reconsideration request within 7 business days, so that if they have new information, the commission could take it up again, avoiding a messy and expensive court fight

In regard to the argument that the new regulations are an infringement on personal freedom and intrusive, Arnold said "This is very much less regulatory than the document I've enforced for 20 years. I'm not going to sit here and lie,:; adding that if he did, it would "come out in the wash."