[Archived] City Manager To Appoint Eileen Fogarty As New Planning Director

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

MEDIA ADVISORY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
DATE: October 5, 2000

CONTACT:Amy Bertsch, City Manager’s Office
(703) 838-4300

ALEXANDRIA CITY MANAGER TO APPOINT EILEEN FOGARTY AS NEW
DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AND ZONING

Alexandria City Manager Philip Sunderland has announced that he will appoint Eileen P. Fogarty as the City’s new Director of the Department of Planning and Zoning. In this position, Ms. Fogarty will oversee the department’s 30 employees, manage a budget of $2.2 million, and work closely on a variety of matters with City Council, the Planning Commission, the Board of Architectural Review, and the Board of Zoning Appeals. Her appointment follows an extensive national search and selection process, which culminated in interviews with panels consisting of Alexandria citizens and staff members.

Since 1996, Ms. Fogarty has been the Director of Planning and Community Development for the City of Santa Cruz, California. Prior to that, she had been with the Department of Planning and Zoning for the City of Annapolis, Maryland, serving as department director from 1983 to 1996. Before her work for Annapolis, Ms. Fogarty was the principal planner for the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and worked in neighborhood development assignments for San Diego County, California.

Ms. Fogarty brings to Alexandria many years of experience in addressing the very types of land use challenges that the City faces, such as the preservation of historic properties and areas, the regulation and development of properties located along waterfronts, recognizing and controlling the traffic consequences of land use decisions, and balancing the interests of residential and commercial communities.

Ms. Fogarty also has exceptional experience in short-term and comprehensive land use planning, and in urban design. Further, she has worked extensively in both the development and the redevelopment arena, planning for the development of vacant land, as well as for the redevelopment of improved properties and areas, such as downtown Santa Cruz and the Annapolis waterfront.

Of particular importance, Ms. Fogarty brings to the City a demonstrated commitment to involving citizens, neighborhoods and the community in land use planning and related issues. Additionally, she brings a commitment to developing community consensus over difficult and contentious land use matters, while addressing a broad range of issues including transportation, parking, and affordable housing.

“Eileen Fogarty’s many years of experience in successfully addressing many of the land use issues that now face Alexandria, together with her philosophy of building community consensus, make her a solid fit for the City,” says Mr. Sunderland. “I’m extremely pleased to welcome her to the staff team which, in collaboration the Council, Planning Commission and community, will guide land use matters in Alexandria over the next decade.”

As Director of Planning and Zoning, Ms. Fogarty will be responsible for developing plans for the desired uses of land in the City, giving consideration to the neighborhood impacts of the uses, and to the infrastructure improvements and the public safety, educational and other services that the City would need to provide in connection with the uses. She also will be responsible for administering the City’s zoning ordinance, for reviewing and making recommendations on a wide range of land use applications that are considered by the Planning Commission, Board of Architectural Review and Board of Zoning Appeals, and for providing architectural, urban design and similar technical assistance to other City departments. In addition, she will be responsible for maintaining an open and effective relationship with the City’s residential and commercial communities, in order to keep these communities well informed of the City’s planning and other land use activities and to develop community consensus during the formulation of land use policies and plans.

Ms. Fogarty has served on a number of regional planning commissions and committees and is a member of the American Planning Association. She was honored last year by the California Chapter of the American Planning Association with the Award of Excellence for Comprehensive Planning, and in 1998 by the League of California Cities with the Award of Excellence in Land Use and in Environmental Quality. Of particular interest to Alexandria are Ms. Fogarty’s awards for her work in Annapolis, including the Maryland Chapter of the American Planning Association 1993 Professional Achievement Award for the Annapolis Downtown Area Plan and the International Waterfront Center Award for Excellence in 1991 for the Maryland Watermans Cooperative Project.

Ms. Fogarty holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of New Hampshire and a master of arts degree from Rutgers University. She will join the City in late November.

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