Loveland council approves new hurdles for future moratoriums

The Loveland City Council voted 5-3 Tuesday to change its rules so future moratoriums cannot be considered until the council has held a study session on the subject first. The rule change also requires a two-thirds council majority to adopt a moratorium, while allowing an exception for emergencies or time-sensitive situations identified by the city manager or city attorney.

Mayor Patrick McFall introduced the motion before the regular agenda, saying he wanted to curb the use of moratoriums without prior public discussion and to avoid signaling that Loveland is "closed for business." He said the supermajority requirement was intended to ensure both majority and minority viewpoints are considered before the city takes an action he described as potentially having major consequences.

The new rule, added as Rule 6(b) in the City Council Rules of Procedure, bars the council from considering any ordinance, resolution or motion establishing a moratorium unless a study session on the underlying issue has already been held. It also says that if the city manager or city attorney identifies an emergency or other time-sensitive circumstance, the city manager may place a moratorium on the council agenda without first meeting the study-session requirement. Council would still have to vote on the moratorium itself.

Debate centered on whether the council should make moratoriums harder to pass as city leaders weigh possible action related to large data centers and continue to reflect on the city's earlier metro-district moratorium. Council Member Caitlin Wyrick said she supported the study-session requirement but opposed requiring a supermajority, arguing that the council should not make one of its tools "much harder to use." She also questioned whether the emergency exception shifted too much power away from the council.

McFall and Mayor Pro Tem Andrea Samson argued that the added barrier was justified by the fallout from the previous metro-district moratorium. McFall said that measure, though adopted for what he called a good reason, ended up constraining city growth for two years through repeated extensions. Samson said the moratorium had significant effects in Ward 2, including at Hunter's Run, where she said emergency responders were delayed after changes tied to the aftermath of the moratorium had not been reflected in their route information. She said the city had also seen resident anger, staff turnover and political fallout after that decision.

The voting-results record lists Council Members Jen Swanty, Caitlin Wyrick and Sarah Rothberg in opposition. Council Member Laura Light-Kovacs was absent.