Lafayette’s Principal City Planner performs highly advanced professional planning work and serves as a planning subject matter expert. This position:

 

• Handles department's most complex planning projects, development applications, policy initiatives, and contributes to long-range planning efforts.
• Provides technical guidance and mentorship to planning staff.
• Coordinates consultant and key partner activities.
• Serves as a key advisor to the Planning Manager as well as the Planning and Building Director, City leadership, boards, commissions, and the public.
• May supervise planning staff and act on behalf of the Planning Manager as assigned.
• Possesses organizational and management capabilities; along with significant analytical, presentation, and communication skills.
• Performs specialized, professional, complex, and multi-dimensional design work.
• Provides support in development of planning policies and design guidelines that impact the city’s urban form.
• Provides strategic direction on all large, complex, multi-disciplinary regional design and construction projects by collaborating with various key partners.

 

 

Current Planning

• Serves as a technical advisor and consultant to commissions, City officials, and other key partners on City goals, priorities, and regulations in the areas of land use, natural resources, conservation, municipal infrastructure, transportation, and the quality and livability of the City
• Serves as a consultant to other city agencies and boards on complex zoning issues and explains the zoning code and development regulations to the public.
• Responds to citizens’ requests for information and to inquiries from other governmental agencies and to professional inquiries.

• Deliver formal presentations to staff, the public, consultants, contractors, governmental entities, City Council or other boards and commissions, and other related parties.
• Guides, reviews, and evaluates planning initiatives for complex and multifaceted development projects.
• Provides advice and direction, and recommends modifications to plans and projects, and provides alternative solutions.   
• Develop innovative design strategies for a wide range of future infrastructure and public space projects while maintaining design excellence within financial and political requirements.
• Provides strategic urban design direction for work on large, complex, multi-disciplinary city design and construction projects; collaborates with engineers, architects, technical support staff, consultants, and contractors; and prepares, reviews, and approves designs, plans, specifications, and contract documents.
• Coordinates effort to bring key partners together who have opposing views and interests to complete planning projects successfully.
• Works with city leaders, elected officials, and other key partners to determine and establish design priorities, formulates and defines objectives, and develops plans.

 

Long Range Planning

• Independently develops and manages the scope of work for complex long-range planning projects, including policy and regulatory analysis, public engagement, data collection, project schedules, and budgets.
• Participates in the formation of capital improvement programs and design review of projects to ensure program scope, planning criteria, and standards are met while coordinating specifics with key partners and government agencies providing planning approval.
• Analyzes data and formulates recommendations and prepares reports.
• Provides support in the development of a comprehensive plan, specific city plans, and the development and implementation of planning standards and criteria, and develops City policy for the development, growth, land use, transportation, natural resources, housing, and utilization of resources.
• Prepares a variety of visual materials including advanced graphics, maps, and charts to synthesize and communicate technical and complex information to a variety of internal and external audiences.
• Performs complex research and analysis on planning, design, and development issues; gathers information from the community to establish priorities, determine problems and develop proposals.
• Supports long-range and short-term design initiatives.
• Responsible for identifying and advancing design, development criteria, and process improvements.
• Provides strategic planning advice on long-range and short-term planning initiatives.
• Develops policy and strategic alternatives regarding planning goals and makes recommendations on highly visible or sensitive issues to planning staff, city officials, boards, commissions, the public, and other key partners.

 

Other

• Coaches, mentors and leads other staff on planning and urban design matters.
• Serve as an advisor/consultant with internal departments, public agencies, external organizations, the public, and/or other interested parties on urban design and long range planning issues. Direct the engagement with the community as an integral part of the design process. Develop and apply a regulatory framework that may include design criteria, design standards and guidelines, technical, and quality control procedures.
• Assists with data collection for annual reports and economic development projects.
• May act as liaison to other City Boards and Commissions
• Develops and directs the implementation of effective organizational performance strategies designed to meet long and short-range organizational goals and objectives.
• Keeps informed of new regulations, pending legislation, and planning trends that may impact City projects, policies, and processes.
• Identifies and leads in implementation of process and customer service improvements
• Coordinates the work of consultants, contractors, and other employees assigned to specific projects.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Any one position may not include all the duties listed. However, the allocation of positions will be determined by the amount of time spent in performing the essential duties listed above.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED:   Works under the supervision of the Planning Manager or Planning and Building Director

 

SUPERVISION EXERCISED:  May supervise work of other staff

KNOWLEDGE:  Knowledge of functions, principles, methods, and techniques of public planning including community planning, land use planning, and zoning. Knowledge of the principles and tools relevant to land use planning, development, regulations, and permitting.

 

SKILLS & ABILITY: 

Perform independent research on planning issues, investigate assigned planning and planning-related problems; maintain effective working relationships with supervisors, other employees and the general public; work independently and complete assignments in a timely manner. 

 

Demonstrated skill in the operation of equipment necessary to perform the functions of the job including computers, spreadsheets, word processing, PowerPoint and ArcMap GIS programs. Experience in graphics design software, such as Adobe Creative Suite and Sketch-up is highly desired but not required.

Creative Thinking – Uses imagination to develop new insights into situations and applies innovative solutions to problems; designs new methods where established methods and procedures are inapplicable or are unavailable.

External Awareness –Identifies and understands economic, political, and social trends that affect the organization.

Influencing/Negotiating – Persuades others to accept recommendations, cooperate, or change their behavior; works with others towards an agreement; negotiates to find mutually acceptable solutions.

Planning and Evaluating – Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other 

organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.

Problem Solving – Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

Strategic Thinking – Formulates objectives and priorities and implements plans consistent with the long-term interests of the organization in a global environment. Capitalizes on opportunities and manages risks.

Working with People - Shows respect for the views and contributions of other team members. Shows empathy, listens, supports, and cares for others, and reconciles the conflict.

Creating and Conceptualizing - Identifies and produces innovative ideas and thinking strategically. Promotes best practices and leading-edge ideas.

Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Oral Communication – Expresses information to individuals or groups effectively; taking into account the audience and nature of the information; makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues and responds appropriately.

Persuading and Political Influence - Gains clear agreement and commitment from others by persuading, convincing and negotiating. Makes effective use of political processes to influence others.

Thinking Strategically - Thinks strategically and promotes best practices and leading-edge ideas.

Writing – Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.

TRAINING: Bachelor's Degree in City or Regional Planning, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Historic Preservation, Engineering, or a related field. Master’s Degree preferred.

 

EXPERIENCE: Minimum eight (8) years of municipal planning experience.

Any equivalent combination of training and experience that provides evidence that the applicant possesses the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

 

Possession of a current and valid Colorado Driver’s license or ability to obtain within thirty (30) days from date of hire.

 

These positions are primarily administrative in nature, working indoors completing tasks such as reading and reviewing reports, papers and other documents, writing reports, writing papers, correspondence and other documents.  This portion of the job will require acute mental skills, a lengthy attention span and involves sitting, walking, and standing.  Some outside field research is required.  Work requires a high degree of manual skill, the ability to hear, focus on close work, and use hands to fingers.  Environment involves occasional exposure to slippery or uneven walking surfaces, dust, dirt, heat, and cold.  The ability to communicate in a clear and concise manner both in writing and verbally is essential to this position.  Interaction with the public and co-workers is an everyday occurrence and requires the ability to direct, negotiate and mediate.

This position operates within the guidelines set forth by departmental policies and procedures.  Situations dictate that these positions must interpret those policies and procedures, or in the absence of any relevant policy or procedure, these positions may be called upon to make decisions and judgments based upon facts and circumstances presented.  This requires the ability to think independently and to use logic based on the known facts to render appropriate decisions and give direction in field and administrative matters.

The ability to properly operate or use the following equipment is necessary for this position:  telephone, copier, personal computer, various software and other office equipment. 

Please ensure your application is complete and submitted prior to 11:59 pm on November 27, 2026, to be considered. Incomplete applications will be withdrawn from the process.