The town of Monument voted this week to place a moratorium in effect through July on accepting planning applications for new construction projects following the resignation of the fifth planning director since 2020.

It’s a decision that could slow development, but town officials say the pause is needed with a critical vacancy.

Town Manager Mike Foreman said in the coming weeks he plans to hire a consultant to help with pending land-use applications and prevent staff from making errors, such as sending a project to the town board before planning commission.

“There is a lot of opportunities right now for us to make mistakes,” he told the board at a meeting on Tuesday. The town’s planning department is currently staffed by two employees with limited experience.

The incoming consultant will help with 25 active land-use applications, he said. Monument has another 10 applications that have been sent back to developers with comments. If developers respond, those applications could become active again. The consultant will also suggest adjustments to city processes.

The board unanimously approved the moratorium through July, but directed Foreman to provide updates every month and to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.

“This is a long-term solution that will cause short-term pain,” Councilman Marco Fiorito said.

The town board also approved several exceptions to the moratorium. Projects that only require a site plan can move forward and projects that provide a public service such as water, sewer, gas, electric, fire protection, ambulance services, roads and recreation.

The Housing & Building Association of Colorado Springs said in a formal statement it is committed to helping the town staff process requests, but the moratorium will delay existing and future projects.

“This will also deter future investment into Monument as builders consider other towns and areas for future projects,” the statement said. “We hope the town prioritizes filling these positions and lifts the moratorium as quickly as possible.”

Monument Mayor Mitch LaKind said he was not concerned about a potential slowdown in development given the speed of recent growth. He also noted that it should not hurt the town’s budget, because financial projections are not based on growth that has not occurred yet.

Councilman Steve King told the crowd during the meeting that numerous other communities have placed moratoriums on planning applications in the past three years.

Several developers spoke during the meeting, citing need for improvement within the town planning department, but called for a shorter moratorium.

Developer Brock Chapman suggested allowing developers to continue to have pre-application meetings with the town and to submit minor plan amendments. Preapplication meetings allow developers to start their design and engineering work, he explained.

“Those two items will serve as a major pressure release valve,” he said.

The town board directed Foreman to consider allowing pre-application meetings before the moratorium is lifted and to update them on that progress.

LaKind floated the idea of an outside investigation into the turnover in planning director positions but said in an interview later such an inquiry may not be possible, since the board does not directly oversee the planning director position.

He said he would be open to conversations with Foreman about what is causing the turnover and whether the pay for the position needs to be increased.

The town of Monument also plans to start an update to its comprehensive plan this year, a document that guides long-term planning decisions and the vision for the town. Planning directors typically help shepherd the development of these long-term plans.

The sign for Monument Town Hall and Police Department.

Jeff Kearney, special to the gazette