The city of Manitou Springs has welcomed three new staffers to the planning department. Two positions were filled with new employees, and one was added to make up four department members.
The city now has a wide range of roles and goals that the members plan to accomplish, both short-term and long-term.
Hannah Van Nimwegen-McGuire joined the Planning Department in April 2022 as the planning director. She brings 12 years of experience to the department, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in urban and environmental planning from Arizona State University and a graduate certificate in public management from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She also is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners.
“I spent seven years with the city of Colorado Springs, working on both development review and long-range comprehensive planning and neighborhood planning efforts. (Before) moving to Colorado in 2015, I had worked in planning departments for the city of Peoria, Arizona, and city of Chandler, Arizona. I also worked for a private land use consulting firm with contracts to support municipal planning departments,” she said.
Nimwegen-McGuire is updating zoning codes, which the city has been working on since late 2020. The Planning Department is hoping to finish this project by late 2022.
She is also working on planning public outreach efforts and updating the Hazard Mitigation Plan, in addition to developing new energy-efficiency in collaboration with the Housing Advisory Board. Nimwegen-McGuire tells the community to stay tuned for potential input opportunities.
“I am also focusing on improving and streamlining processes, cultivating accountability and increasing transparency to improve customer service, increase consistency and generate an additional time to take on additional projects for the community. Lastly, I intend to develop a strategic plan for the department to logically tackle long-range planning efforts while capitalizing on opportunities as they become available,” Nimwegen-McGuire said.
Her short-term goal is developing review processes to create new ways to improve efficiency, define roles and update communication. She hopes to increase the power of Manitou residents by involving them more in long-term planning and preservation efforts.
Kelsey Lanham joined the Planning Department in March 2022 as a planning technician, a new role created in the department. She previously worked as a junior experience representative with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks football club.
She graduated from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs with bachelor’s degrees in business administration management and business marketing.
“My previous positions have been primarily customer service-based, which is applicable to my current position with the city of Manitou Springs. In addition, my marketing and management degrees allow for creating advertisements for programs and boards/commissions and managing certain tasks and projects with the city,” Lanham said.
She is the assistant city project manager for the Hazard Mitigation Plan, which must be updated every five years.
“For the Planning Department specifically, a short-term goal would be to rework our current processes in place to make them easier to interpret and comprehend. A long-term goal for the department would be to learn the ins and outs of Manitou Springs and its residents, as three of the four members of this team are fairly new to the city,” Lanham said.
Chelsea Stromberg joined the Planning Department in June 2022 as the senior planner. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in environmental design, with an emphasis in planning. She also has a master’s degree in political science, with a focus on public policy.
In addition, Stromberg will seek her American Institute of Certified Planners certification in November.
“I am working on cases for the Historic Preservation Commission and Planning Commission, as well as grant applications for the historic Carnegie Library and the Comprehensive Plan Update,” Stromberg said.
One of her goals is to build more consistent processes.
“I love problem solving and finding creative solutions to land-use problems to help community members achieve their goals,” she said.
Dylan Becker began working for the department as a geographic information system intern in August 2016. Eventually, he was hired as a planner I in February 2017, and is now a planner II.
Becker has bachelor’s degrees in anthropology, with an emphasis on archaeology, and geography and environmental studies, with a focus on GIS.
“Both degrees have benefited me greatly in this position. Many city planners have a master’s degree in urban or regional planning,” he said.
“Still, I have found that my background in anthropology/archaeology has been an asset in terms of historic preservation and my background in GIS has been a great help in zoning and creating maps for the city’s use.”
Becker is working on an upcoming agenda for public hearings with the Historic Preservation Commission and the City Planning Commission.
“One of the department’s short-term goals is to update our plan review process to better streamline reviews with the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department. One of the department’s long-term goals is to update the Zoning Code,” he said.
Jack Embery