For Immediate ReleaseFor More Information, Contact
July 14, 2006
PIO# 181-06/rdo		Brian Hannigan, Director of Communications, or
Raynard Owens, Communications Officer, at 703.838.4300
Raynard Owens, Communications Officer, at 703.838.4300


EILEEN FOGARTY, CITY’S DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AND ZONING,
RESIGNS TO TAKE NEW POSITION IN CALIFORNIA

After Six Years as City’s Chief Planner, Eileen Fogarty Returns to West Coast
as Santa Monica’s Director of Planning and Community Development

Alexandria Director of Planning and Zoning Eileen P. Fogarty announced her resignation today to become Director of Planning and Community Development in Santa Monica, California.

Fogarty came to Alexandria in 2000 after having served as Director of Planning and Community Development in Santa Cruz, California. In Santa Monica, Ms. Fogarty will direct a staff of 114 with an annual budget of $20.3 million. In addition to planning and zoning, her responsibilities will include transportation and traffic, building permits and inspections, and historic preservation.

“It has been a very fulfilling experience to be planning director at this extraordinary time in Alexandria’s history,” said Fogarty in announcing her resignation, which will take effect in mid-September. “I am proud of the City’s accomplishments over the past six years. We have established a new development process, characterized by its transparency and extensive public involvement, resulting in high quality development, good urban design and beautiful public spaces.”

Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille praised Fogarty’s tenure as director: “Eileen Fogarty has been an exceptional member of our City management team, and she has worked hard to achieve the City Council’s vision for Alexandria.”

“Eileen’s strong commitment to building community partnerships has set a new standard for leadership in the critical field of planning for our unique city,” said Mayor Euille. “Alexandria will be forever appreciative of the many contributions she made in reforming our planning process and reshaping our City.”

“Eileen Fogarty has been a key participant in the development of Alexandria’s exemplary interagency development review process,” said Alexandria City Manager James K. Hartmann. “City departments involved in the development process now work together smoothly in a streamlined effort to put forward successful projects that will meet the City Council’s goals for our City. Eileen’s leadership helped to define Alexandria as a community with high quality building design, useable open space, and a safe and walkable environment, while preserving the City’s essential historical character and culture.”

“Alexandria will miss Eileen Fogarty,” said Planning Commission Chairman Eric Wagner. “She has been a great asset to the City and an invaluable resource to the Planning Commission.”

“Eileen should be very proud of the legacy she will leave in Alexandria,” continued Wagner. “She transformed the planning process and presided over an unprecedented period of high-quality growth in the City’s diverse urban villages that included active community involvement. She has left the City of Alexandria in a much better place than it was when she arrived six years ago. Santa Monica is very fortunate to be getting Eileen.”

“My experience in Alexandria has given me the opportunity to partner with the residential and business communities in building a strong and responsive public participation process,” said Fogarty. “The result is a system that ensures the community’s high expectations are honored and the goal of significant public benefits is reached to the greatest possible extent.”

Prior to her work in Santa Cruz, Fogarty spent thirteen years as Director of Planning and Zoning in Annapolis, Maryland.

The City of Alexandria will conduct a nationwide search for a new Director of Planning and Zoning. “Eileen has helped us to set an ambitious but sound course for the City,” said City Manager Hartmann. “We will look for an outstanding planning professional who will help us to build on Eileen’s record of accomplishment and stretch to reach even higher standards of excellence for our community.”

Alexandria, Virginia is a vibrant, diverse and historic community located at the core of the greater Washington, D.C. region. Through its planning process, the City seeks to: preserve its history and culture, create transit-oriented development, strengthen its several distinct neighborhood “main streets,” preserve and enhance neighborhoods, and create livable places with housing choices for all residents.
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