Principal City Planner - Long Range Planning

City of Lafayette Colorado; Lafayette (CO); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Lafayette Colorado is seeking a Principal City Planner - Long Range Planning or Long Range Planning Manager level candidate. This position manages complex long-range planning projects, guides policy analysis, and coordinates with city leadership, staff, and external partners to advance planning priorities for the community.

The role emphasizes strategic direction, policy development, and the execution of multi-disciplinary design and planning initiatives to shape Lafayette’s urban

Responsibilities

• Serves as a technical advisor to commissions, City officials, and other key partners on land use, natural resources, conservation, municipal infrastructure, transportation, and livability.
• Guides, reviews, and evaluates planning initiatives for complex and multifaceted development projects.
• Develops innovative design strategies for future infrastructure and public space projects while maintaining design excellence within financial and political constraints.
• Provides strategic urban design direction for large, multi-disciplinary city design and construction projects; collaborates with engineers, architects, staff, consultants, and contractors.

Job description

The City of Lafayette is recruiting for one position that may be filled at either the Principal City Planner - Long Range Planning or Long Range Planning Manager level, depending on the qualifications and experience of the selected candidate. Both positions are being advertised; however, only one vacancy will be filled.

SUMMARY OR GENERAL PURPOSE:

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.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The following duties are illustrative only and are not intended to be all inclusive:

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