City of Cheyenne settles lawsuit with frequently flooded residents

Jan. 9—CHEYENNE — "For six years now, they've put us through hell — physically, mentally and emotionally — just to turn around and do what we asked them to do in the first place," Joyce Stone said after Cheyenne City Council members voted Monday night to settle a lawsuit.

The situation began in May 2017 when Homes by Guardian began construction on the Thomas Heights housing development. A study from a water engineering firm found this development caused flooding of nearby homes due to drainage deficiencies, including the one owned by the Stones.

Initially, City Council members voted to ignore the issue because the Stones and other impacted residents were outside of city limits, stating that a solution should be the responsibility of the developer and the county. However, it was the city that approved the application for Thomas Heights originally.

On Monday, the City Council approved a settlement solution with the Stones and Fertigs, the other homeowners in the lawsuit representing the flooded county residents.

The unanimous decision will see the city paying $350,000 for the modification of a nearby detention pond and installation of a sewer system. The money will likely come from the city's general fund reserves. The homeowners association of Thomas Heights, the other defendant in this case, will pay the plaintiffs a "small amount" to settle, according to Rod Stone, Joyce's husband.

"Settling this case is a relief to all involved," Rod Stone said. "I thought it was common knowledge that you can't construct anything that floods your neighbors. Thomas Heights drainage design is very amateur. I don't know how an engineer can have a license in Wyoming who does such poor designs that flood septics, violates historic flow paths and violates property rights."

Rod Stone thanked all of the City Council members for voting to approve this settlement, particularly council member Pete Laybourn. "And a very heartfelt thanks to Councilman Laybourn," he said, "who knew right from wrong in the beginning and put a lot into this."

He also thanked his lawyer, Bruce Asay, and Laramie County Fire District 2, which placed sandbags around their home and that of their neighbors to mitigate flooding. He said they would check in on him whenever there was heavy rain.

"I do want to note that the design team that created this problem is not participating in the resolution of the problem," Laybourn said. "The city is paying for this. I suppose, in some ways, that's appropriate; we allowed this problem. We didn't really deal with it for quite a while, though. ... One of the examples I would make is that you really should never, ever again allow a homeowners association to maintain a detention facility."

City leaders hope this settlement will serve as a sign of good faith that they are willing to work with county residents as Cheyenne continues to grow.

"We've spent a lot of money fighting this; we didn't want to in the first place. [The city] spent a lot of money, and now they're just going to do what we were asking them to do," Joyce Stone said. "We're not the first ones that they've done it to, but we hope we will be the last."

Unified Development Code changes

The city also approved several amendments to the Unified Development Code at Monday's meeting.

The first exempts ground-floor residential areas from the requirement that 60% to 90% of the ground-level façade be made of windows. Another approved amendment removes the requirement that at least 30% of a building facade be made of brick or stone for multifamily developments that provide housing that is income restricted to 80% of area median income.

These changes are part of an effort from city staff to cut back on code requirements to reduce the price of development. They hope this will incentivize more investment in housing, increasing supply and lowering housing prices.

Council members Tom Segrave and Laybourn were the only two opposed to these changes.

Animal care requirements

The city also continued discussions regarding an ordinance that would amend Title 6 of the municipal code, which deals with the registration, control, impoundment and general care of animals and birds in the city.

If approved, it would largely make changes to wording to simplify and clarify the document. However, it does make a few policy changes, including:

— Removing a limit of four adult animals per dwelling unit.

— To qualify as a community cat, the animal shall be ear tipped, sterilized and have received at least one vaccination against rabies.

— The animal control authority shall provide notice of impoundment of any pet wearing a current registration tag to the owner of the animal either in person or by telephone within 24 hours of impoundment.

— Unidentified animals shall be detained at the designated animal shelter for a period of not less than 48 hours. Identified animals shall be detained at the designated animal shelter for not less than 48 hours after actual notice to the owner.

Representatives from the Cheyenne Animal Shelter and the Cheyenne Kennel Club attended the meeting to suggest further changes to the title amendment for council to consider.

The amendment will go before the council's Public Services Committee next week for another reading.

New leadership

Monday's meeting opened with the appointment of council member Ken Esquibel as the council president for 2024. Council member Mark Rinne was appointed as vice president. Mayor Patrick Collins recognized and thanked council member Richard Johnson for his service as council president over the past year.

The primary duty of the council president is to represent the council. They fill in for the mayor in their absence at council, at public meetings and events to represent the council, and in decision making. They also appoint the chair of the Finance and Public Services committees, determine the seating assignment of the council members, and sit as chair for work sessions, committee of the whole meetings and budgetary work sessions.

Esquibel and Rinne were the only nominations for their roles, and the decision was unanimous.

Noah Zahn is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's local government/business reporter. He can be reached at 307-633-3128 or nzahn@wyomingnews.com. Follow him on X @NoahZahnn.