TORRINGTON - Support for a bill to encourage construction of affordable housing in Wyoming isn't coming only from communities booming due to energy activity.

On the heels of a housing needs assessment completed in November, Goshen County Economic Development Executive Director Brad Sutherland said he hopes the Legislature will approve the measure to help the housing situation here as well.

The measure would make it possible for cities, town and counties to apply for loans or grants to buy land and put in infrastructure such as streets, sidewalks, gutters, storm water systems and electricity to help build homes for medium-range worker housing.

While the need for such housing may be especially pronounced in mineral-patch counties such as Campbell and Sublette, cities including Torrington, Cheyenne and Laramie are also experiencing growing pains, with little or no affordable housing for people who want to work there.

The new Goshen County study projected housing demands from 2006 to 2016 and gave recommendations on the amount and type of housing that could be built here.

According to the study, which was completed by Compass Communications, there are many signs that the economy is strengthening in Goshen County, with two new major employers taking hold. Torrington was selected as the site of the state's new 600-bed medium-security prison. Entry-level wage will begin at $29,255 for officers working there.

Heartland BioComposites has begun a manufacturing business in Torrington that produces a wood substitute product made from recycled plastics and wheat straw. The company now employs about 30 people and could double its work force in the near future. The starting wage is $19,760, with the average management position paying $44,408.

The study also notes that the Union Pacific Railroad in Morrill, Neb., plans to hire about 70 more workers up until March. The starting annual wages there will be $30,000 to $40,000 and could increase to $70,000 within five years. Many of these skilled positions are difficult to fill, which means workers will typically move in from outside the region.

The conclusion of the study is that the population in Goshen County will increase incrementally in the next few years as a result of the construction of the prison and job growth of other businesses in the area.

Several housing developments are in progress, but a lot of the homes being built are for higher incomes. What is needed now, according to the study, is encouragement of additional development to meet the affordable housing needs. These subdivisions could consist of mixed-income development, with some units also serving low-income residents and others serving people with higher incomes.

One key to providing affording housing is providing low-cost sites for development.

The study identified the potential demand for about 172 new units in Torrington between 2006 and 2016, for a variety of types of housing. Overall, the study found that about 75 percent of the demand will be home ownership (129 new homes), including town homes. The demand for rental units is projected at 172 units. The remainder of the county is projected to have a demand for about 254 housing units, primarily for home ownership.

The proposed work force housing infrastructure program would enable Goshen County and Torrington to apply for grants to develop publicly owned infrastructure to support work force housing.

Rep. Ed Buchanan, R-Torrington, said his community would benefit from the measure being considered by the Legislature.

"The bill set up criteria under which Torrington should fare well, given our future need for work force housing," he said. "It requires a competitive application and scoring system that measures primarily need, the affordability of the proposed housing and how the plan for development fits Torrington's community and economic development plans."

While there is no mention in the bill of "mineral-impacted" communities, Buchanan added that those areas would obviously benefit under the program as well.