The Laramie Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit for the new National Guard Readiness Center during their meeting Monday night, May 22.

The conditional use permit would allow the readiness center to deviate from the city's development standards in a number of ways, due to constraints imposed by federal regulations which are tied to funding.

David Triplett, architect for Layton Construction Co. LLC, said the project was “long-coming” and “much needed.” Triplett addressed one of the main concerns with the facility design, which was the conflicts between the City’s development standards and various security and funding constraints imposed by Federal regulations, mainly to do with landscaping.

“Some federal regulations create constraints that are not friendly to the development standards of the city,” Triplett said. “We tried to mitigate these discrepancies as much as possible.”

Triplett said security was the first priority with the design and that landscaping features such as numerous hedges or trees would pose a security risk, as a person trying to gain entry to the building without permission could use them as cover. City of Laramie development standards would also not have permitted the creation of a parking lot in front of the building, directly off of Highway 130, however the federal regulations require it.

“We did try to minimize the impact of those visual concerns, we want to be a community asset,” Triplett said.

The new center, which is similar to an armory, will be located on Highway 130 and Montgolfier Way. The center will also house operational and training facilities for multiple Wyoming Army National Guard units stationed in Laramie.

The project will cost $29 million. The commission approved the conditional use plan unanimously, with one member being absent. The sight plans will be sent to the City planning department for approval.

Senior Project Manager for the readiness center, Jake Greenland, said construction will begin on June 1 and is scheduled to be completed in December 2018.

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