Impact Fee Proposal Withdrawn

A proposal to have city staff develop a plan for impact fees in the city was withdrawn on Monday night because of a lack of support on the Cheyenne City Council.

The proposal would have drawn up fees for such things as new roads and other infrastructure related to development.

Supporters had argued growth in Cheyenne is stressing the city infrastructure, and that he impact fees would have helped deal with the situation.

But the local business community, including Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dale Steenbergen, were vehemently opposed, arguing it would add another burden to business development in the city.

When the City Council Finance Committee last week took up the proposal Steenbergen cited a recent national survey that rated the costs of starting a business in Cheyenne as 138th out of 200 cities of roughly the same size, even without the impact.

The proposal advanced to the full council on Monday even without the support of the Finance Committee.

But council members say the proposal had drawn an avalanche of e-mails in opposition prior to last night's meeting, and the proposal is apparently dead, at least for now,