A 21st century “Of Mice and Men” could tell of hopes for new hotels, retailers, and jobs – and the power of mice to obstruct them all.

Colorado’s economy is hot, but that doesn’t make our state a friendly place for young entrepreneurs, professionals and workers. Plans for new homes and businesses typically encounter a barrage of regulations that frequently kill them. Mouse protection poses one major barrier, as seen most recently in the early battle to build “True North Commons.”

As detailed in CompleteColorado.com, The U.S. Air Force Academy filed a petition with the City Clerk on Nov. 23 for Colorado Springs to annex more than 180 acres of Academy property on the east and west sides of I-25 near Northgate Boulevard.

The proposed development came about as part of the Academy’s new visitors’ center, included in a multi-faceted City for Champions plan to enhance regional tourism revenues.

The plan includes 58 acres and a maximum of 590,000-square-feet of mixed commercial, retail and hospitality businesses. Along with hotels, restaurants, and office space, the plan includes a possible indoor skydiving center for the general public and Academy personnel.

The proposed development would abut with open space that runs west across I-25 toward Bass Pro Shops and the Mining Museum. That land can never be developed.

The Air Force Academy is a major primary employer and a key element of the Colorado Springs economy. The Visitors’ Center and associated development will leverage the Academy by giving tourists more reason to stay in the area and spend. New businesses will create jobs. Hotels will generate public revenue collected under the Lodgers and Automobile Rental Tax.

Kellie Kuhn, an Academy associate professor of biology, hopes to stop True North Commons to protect field mice from potential disruption.

“The development envelopes overlap with the habitat of federally listed Preble’s Meadow jumping mouse,” Kuhn explained on a Facebook post shared by the El Paso County Democratic Party.

U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn and others have tried to delist the Preble’s mouse. They question whether Prebles are substantially different than nearly identical rodents, and claim anti-growth activists exploit the mouse to control property without having to buy or condemn it.

Kuhn also complains the development would transfer federal land from public control, harm aquatic organisms in Monument Creek, and threaten drinking water that runs through the creek.

“I lament that this area may be lost forever,” Kuhn said.

It won’t be lost; it will be altered. The changes will be nothing compared to habitat disruption the federal government caused when it built the Academy in the 1950s. Had we placed mice above men back then, we would not have the Academy in our community and Kuhn would not have her enviable academic position in the country’s most coveted city. Few of us would have homes.

The city Planning Commission will host a hearing on the proposed development Jan. 17, where city officials should take concerns of Kuhn and other opponents to heart. Their concerns are not invalid, but we don’t need the nuclear option of quashing a constructive opportunity for cultural and economic growth.

Mitigation will be the key to a successful outcome in which everyone wins. Planners should consider reasonable options for making the adjoining open space a more attractive and nurturing environment for mice. They should ensure the plans include infrastructure to protect Monument Creek from runoff created by the development’s impervious surfaces.

Mice are important, but so are humans. As they always have, mice and men should work things out and live together side-by-side.