Jeff White announces bid for reelection to Cheyenne City Council

May 7—CHEYENNE — Cheyenne City Council member Jeff White has announced his intent to seek reelection this fall.

As he seeks another four-year term representing Ward 1, White said his top priority is addressing the housing shortage — and not just for those who qualify for low-income tax credit housing.

With the growth of Cheyenne's employment opportunities through new data centers and the anticipated growth when the Sentinel missile project comes to town, White said the need for housing is greater than it has ever been.

While there is no single solution to this issue that affects communities across the nation, White said there are some actions that can be taken locally to ease the burden. One way the City Council and the city's planning and development department have approached this is through updating Cheyenne's Unified Development Code (UDC).

Updates to the UDC make development less expensive, potentially incentivizing more housing development and increasing housing supply, he said.

"We need to continue to look at the UDC," White said. "When it was put in place 20 years ago, what was good then isn't necessarily good now. Tastes change, designs change. So, we constantly need to look at the UDC and make sure that it's modern, and that it's meeting its purpose and not being too restrictive."

White said the city has done a good job of that so far, but should continue to pursue updates such as looking at height restrictions, lot sizes and zone changes.

In his nine years serving on the city's governing body, White has supported projects such as the Civic Commons Park, West Edge and Reed Avenue Corridor development, Sweetgrass development and Harmony Estates in south Cheyenne, Belvoir Ranch trail development and the Downtowner Studios.

One accomplishment he is most proud of, however, is his work supporting the redevelopment of the former Hitching Post Inn property on West Lincolnway.

"I think the biggest accomplishment that I'm proud of, and I was personally involved in, is that [fellow council member] Dr. [Mark] Rinne and I wrote, and were able to get passed, the Tax Incremental Financing [TIF] option," White said. "That tool was really the catalyst that finally spurred redevelopment at the Hitching Post Plaza. That project is near completion. In fact, I think it's going to be completed in the next couple of months. ... And because of that, we're starting to see other development groups interested in utilizing TIF to have other projects."

White is also proud of the council's collective effort in continuing to grow recreational opportunities for Cheyenne's youth. In January, the governing body approved a nearly $5 million purchase of the BEAST facility in Cheyenne and another $5 million investment to construct a gymnastics facility at the city's Ice and Events Center.

He said these moves were motivated by dwindling access to Laramie County School District 1 facilities.

"We really have to become the captain of our own ship," White said. "Because if this trend keeps continuing, we're not going to have anything."

White has lived in Cheyenne since 1981, and graduated from Central High School in 1987.

"I grew up in Cheyenne; it's my hometown. This community means everything to me," he said.

Before being appointed to City Council in 2015, he had represented the city as a member of the Laramie County Library Board of Directors and Community Development Block Grant Advisory Council, Downtown Development Authority and Cheyenne/Laramie County Economic Development Joint Powers Board.

White has volunteered with the Cheyenne Frontier Days Public Relations Committee for more than 30 years, and is a member of the CFD Heels. He has also volunteered with the Cheyenne Boys and Girls Club, United Way of Laramie County, Laramie County Library and Friday Food Bag Foundation.

"Being involved in the community has always been very important to me. ... It's just been an honor serving for the last nine years, and I hope the voters will entrust me with another four-year term."

Currently, he serves on the City Council's Finance Committee and previously served as City Council president in 2021 and chairman of the Finance Committee. He also represents the council on the Cheyenne-Laramie County Board of Health, Brownfield Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Committee and Visit Cheyenne Board.

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.