Tackling Wyoming’s Housing Challenges
Posted by Bobbie Frank on August 1, 2024

The Joint Corporation Committee met in Evanston this week and spent the afternoon and into the evening on July 30 discussing Wyoming’s shortage of affordable housing and what the state can do to help facilitate more housing development. Proposals discussed included legislation aimed at limiting city, town and county regulatory authorities, authorizing cities and towns ability to provide tax credit for expenditure for the improvement of abandoned and nuisance buildings, amending the urban renewal statutes, and authorizing issuance of Wyoming Community Development Authority (WCDA) bonds to provide funding to the agency for its programs. The committee also discussed legislation to clarify authority of State Land Board to lease state lands for housing on state-owned lands.
The Committee voted to move all bills to their next meeting for further discussion. The discussion on the WCDA legislation included a directive to the agency to further discuss with interested parties a more defined purpose for the funding to ensure it accomplishes the intended purpose. GoWest has reached out to the Director and requested a seat at the table as he moves forward with developing further recommendations prior to the next meeting.
The next meeting of the Joint Corporations Committee is scheduled for October 22-23 in Cheyenne.
Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Wyoming Advocacy.