Former Parker mayor urges Elbert County to slow growth, consider moratorium and code changes

Greg Lopez, former mayor of Parker, told the Elbert County Board of County Commissioners at a recent meeting that commissioners should consider pausing new building permits and align the county's comprehensive plan and land-use regulations to manage rapid growth and protect infrastructure and water supplies.

Lopez said Elbert County faces a surge of proposals and a sizeable pipeline of residential projects and urged the board to "slow it down" so the county can set a clear long-term vision. He said Parker imposed an eight-month building moratorium while it revised its master plan and zoning, and that Elbert County should consider a similar temporary pause while updating its comprehensive plan and rules.

The former mayor said the county must weigh development's impact on schools, roads, emergency services, water and maintenance obligations and gave examples from Parker of tools local governments can use, including higher park-dedication requirements, stricter surety and performance-bond conditions, and changes to permitted uses. He recommended imposing conditions of approval and using legislative enactments to change zoning and district designations when necessary.

Lopez described specific problems he encountered in Parker: three metro districts that entered bankruptcy when expected growth and building permits did not materialize; bond and mortgage market reactions that complicated homeowners' financial situations; and the consequences of approving higher densities without adequate public-service capacity. He said developers sometimes market potential zoning benefits to increase land value, and urged commissioners to be prepared to amend or redraw economic development zone boundaries and other designations by ordinance.

On water and utilities, Lopez warned that local water availability is uncertain and said statewide supplies rely heavily on snowmelt. He advised caution when approving subdivisions that will increase long-term demand, and said counties should prefer growth near existing economic hubs and utility corridors to reduce infrastructure costs.

Lopez also urged commissioners to read and cross-check the comprehensive plan and development regulations together rather than treating the plan as a distant, static document. He criticized some master-plan language he reviewed as favoring growth without explicit quality-of-life or character goals, and recommended that updated vision statements and regulations be tightly aligned and implemented together.

Commissioners and other meeting participants thanked Lopez for his presentation and indicated they would continue work on the comprehensive plan update and related regulations. No formal moratorium or ordinance change was adopted at the meeting; Lopez's recommendations were presented as advice based on his experience in Parker.