Enhanced citywide role seen
Diane Sugimura, director of the Department of Planning and Development (DPD), today announced the appointment of Marshall Foster as Seattle city planning director. The city planning director oversees all aspects of Seattle’s comprehensive and regional planning, land use policy, neighborhood planning, urban design, green building, and the work of the Seattle Design and Planning Commissions. The city planning director reports to the head of DPD.
As part of this role, Foster will be charged with strengthening coordination across a range of city departments with the goal of developing a bold, action-oriented approach to planning that improves Seattle’s quality of life, economic vitality and environmental sustainability.
Foster currently serves as the city’s Central Waterfront coordinator, managing efforts to develop new public spaces on the Central Waterfront. He is also currently completing an Urban Design Framework to shape future growth of the South Lake Union neighborhood, and led negotiations to relocate the Museum of History and Industry from Montlake to the Naval Reserve Armory in Lake Union Park. Previously he worked at Mithun, a Seattle-based design and planning firm, on master planning projects with a focus on integrated sustainable design. Before coming to Seattle in 2006, Foster served as director of City Greening Initiatives and oversaw center city planning for the City of San Francisco, California. He holds a Master’s Degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley.
“Seattle is facing unprecedented challenges and opportunities as a city. We now must look more broadly at articulating a clear long-term vision for our future. It’s about creating a livable, safe and healthy city – a resilient city. We need to address pressing concerns in the community: how to manage growth responsibly, revitalize our economy, and build on the strengths of our communities,” said Sugimura. “Marshall and I have worked together for a number of years now. I believe he has the talent, vision and experience in Seattle needed to hit the ground running, facing these challenges head-on.”
Foster will begin his new role February 17, 2010.