Real Estate Summit: Regulatory consistency key to continued Northern Colorado job growth 

LOVELAND — While Northern Colorado’s economy and employment environment has rebounded admirably since the COVID-19 era, continued success relies on more consistent application rules and regulations related to issues such as zoning and land use. 

“We are fully recovered from any kind downturn related to the pandemic,” Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Ann Hutchison said Thursday during a panel discussion on job growth at BizWest’s Northern Colorado Real Estate Summit in Loveland.  “…Hats off to Northern Colorado; not every region can say that.”

In Weld County, the near-term prospects for the energy industry are still fairly strong, Upstate Colorado CEO Rich Werner said. “We’re doing better overall …things are going well in Northern Colorado,” but continued efforts to diversify the economy will remain important in coming years. 

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Quality of life, weather and the natural environment have been “Colorado’s key incentive (for attracting employees from around the nation) for decades,” Loveland business relations manager Marcie Willard said. That will remain the case for the foreseeable future, but businesses and governments must work together to address challenges such as housing cost, infrastructure development and workforce development. 

Fort Collins economic health director SeonAh Kendall said that it has become “harder and harder to do business and make a profit,” so a coordinated approach to problem solving is critical.

“Political certainty,” Werner said, is key for recruiting businesses. The concern from economic development professionals and site selectors is not necessarily with the existence of rules and regulations, rather the complaints from businesses typically relate to the constantly shifting nature of those rules.

“Get the heck out of the way and drop those barriers,” Hutchison said of government officials who support onerous regulations. 

Specifically, Willard suggested that businesses and developers “need to be flexible with zoning and land use.”

Hutchison recommended that business operators both large and small take a more proactive approach in communicating their needs to local officials. 

“Share your voice,” she said. “… When you don’t show up, others do.”