GJ’s Community Development dept. lost 11 staff in one year. We asked why.

Grand Junction’s Community Development department is bleeding staff. Public records obtained by The Daily Sentinel show 11 department employees parted ways with the city from September of 2025 to September of 2026, including planners, supervisors and the department director herself. As of mid-September, the municipal agency had six vacant positions to fill. Four former city employees — all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity — said their departures were motivated by their frustrations with city management and with some of the Grand Valley’s real estate developers. The former municipal personnel said Community Development was stripped of its autonomy as the city manager’s office failed to defend it from developers who they say leveraged personal influence and advisory positions to overturn planning and zoning policies.

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