Habitat for Humanity of Laramie County wants to redraw the lot lines at its Pronghorn Crossing neighborhood on Cheyenne's east side so that every home it's building sits on a lot the buyer can own outright. A city staff report prepared for the Nov. 2 Planning Commission meeting recommends approval of the replat, which turns 11 lots into 13 on about 1.18 acres (via City of Cheyenne).
The plat, case PUDC-26-230 and called Pronghorn Crossing 2nd Filing, now goes to City Council. It's set for introduction on Monday, Nov. 9, with final consideration on Monday, Nov. 23. Council's regular meetings fall on the second and fourth Mondays.
Here's the layout. Twelve residential lots run between 1,076 and 1,093 square feet apiece, and a 38,346-square-foot common lot ties them together. That shared lot, Lot 7, holds the access, utilities and parking, plus a private drive called Pronghorn Trail. Under the plan, the people who own the individual lots will be responsible for maintaining it.
The site is just south of Storey Boulevard, between Canyon Road and Ridge Road, and it's zoned NR-2, the city's medium-density neighborhood residential district. The new lots are classified as cottage lots under Section 6.6.5 of Cheyenne's Unified Development Code.
Why redraw lines on a job that's already underway? The site was originally approved as a single-lot cottage development. After construction started, Habitat chose the multi-lot route so each home could be sold on its own fee-simple lot. That path brings its own standards, including a plat that has to go to the Governing Body.
One of those standards didn't fit. Cottage rules let only a share of units face a common access way, and the staff report puts that share at 40%. On Oct. 15, the Board of Adjustment granted a variance letting every unit at Pronghorn Crossing face the shared drive.
City planner Connor White's review found the request met all the applicable criteria. No new streets are planned, utilities are already close by, and the drainage and traffic worksheets didn't raise problems at the plat stage. Staff flagged three review items, a technical correction, ownership and upkeep of Lot 7 and an easement clarification, and the report says the corrections have been made. Public notice drew one question about where the project was and what it was for. The city's online project page logged 155 views and no comments.
Fees come due when building permits are pulled: a park fee of \$700 per acre, prorated to the nearest tenth of an acre; a Residential Enhancement Fee of \$400 per dwelling unit; and public safety fees for each residential structure.
The homes themselves have been in the news this year. Cowboy State Daily reported in July that Habitat is building 12 units as six attached twin homes, each with three or four bedrooms and two baths. The land was donated by Leaning Tree Homes, and the group first planned eight single-family houses there. Changes to the city's zoning, including the cottage lot option, made room for 12.
According to that report, roads, sewer, water lines, retaining walls and a detention pond were estimated at more than \$1.8 million. State and city infrastructure help from Wyoming's Unmet Housing Needs fund brought the price to about \$315,000 per home, compared with roughly \$375,000 without it. Buyers must earn 80% or less of area median income and put in sweat equity hours. The homes use structurally insulated panels, mini-split heating and cooling, tankless water heaters and solar panels.
In June, Habitat held a 10-day blitz build that framed four of the homes as two duplexes, Your Wyoming Link reported, and the group said it was aiming to have families moved in by Thanksgiving. "This is going to give my family that permanent security," future homeowner Hannah Snitko told the station.
Why it matters for Contractors
This isn't a bid opportunity. Habitat is building with volunteers and local crews. It's still a useful look at how Cheyenne's cottage lot rules work once they're in the field. Twelve homes on lots around 1,080 square feet, with parking and utilities pushed onto one shared parcel, is a model a small builder could use on an infill site that wouldn't pencil with standard lots.
There's also a lesson in sequencing. Habitat started under a single-lot approval and then needed a variance and a council-approved plat to sell homes one at a time. If you're planning cottage units for sale rather than rent, sort out the lot structure, the 40% frontage rule and who maintains the common lot before you break ground. And budget the per-unit fees at permit time.