Press release from the city of Hendersonville:
The City of Hendersonville’s Community Development Department established in the fall of 2020 reflects the demands of a growing city. Over the years the City has included within its hierarchy, a planning department, a zoning department, a downtown economic development department, and a development assistance department. Each has been a response to trends and opportunities within the community. The reorganization of the City’s Downtown Economic Development Department and the Development Assistance Department into the Community Development Department is a similarly responsive and forwa6rd-thinking effort.
The strategic management of growth within the City of Hendersonville requires a multi-disciplinary approach, one which consists of input from regulatory entities, development entities, non-profit community entities, and internal & external stakeholders. The re-organization of these departments better aligns staff resources to actively work towards addressing larger community development challenges and opportunities, particularly in the areas of; 1) long-range comprehensive planning, 2) advanced planning techniques such as form-based codes, 3) community visioning & contribution to a vision for regional growth, 4) economic development, 5) transportation planning and 6) affordable & workforce housing.
An effort to develop a “Departmental Strategic Work Plan” will be an early priority of the newly established Department. The plan will outline a vision for the department as it serves the City in the area of community development. Staff will identify the existing services provided by the newly formed department and analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) for the new Department. With this information in hand an outreach effort to the community to identify and refine key concerns for the community and, alongside internal input, identify departmental goals for the next two to five years.
This effort will align the work of the newly formed Department with the needs of the City, but it will also play a key role in continuing to develop and train existing staff while highlighting the needed skillsets for staff. Staff positions themselves will be part of two Divisions within the department, the Planning Division, and the Downtown Division. Once fully staffed, the department will consist of a total of 8 staff. This total includes three newly created positions, which were approved by City Council at their September 3rd, 2020 meeting.
Filling the role of director for the Community Development Department is Lew Holloway, who moves from the position of Downtown Economic Development Director. Jamie Carpenter, currently the Downtown Economic Development Coordinator, will be moving into the second newly created position of Downtown Manager. Meredith Freidheim, Downtown Events Coordinator, completes the Downtown Division of the Community Development Department.
On the Planning side, the department will be seeking to fill several vacant positions over the next few months, including the newly created Planning Manager. Initially slated to be filled by Daniel Heyman, the City’s Senior Planner, Daniel has found an opportunity which better aligns with his professional goals and background as an attorney and will be joining the Pisgah Legal Services team on September 14th. While we are sad to see Daniel’s departure, we are excited to be revisioning the future of the department at this unique moment.
Of course, familiar faces will still abound, with Terri Swann continuing to provide unparalleled support to our community as administrative aide to the division and planner Tyler Morrow continuing and growing his role in the division moving forward. But there will also be a few new faces over the coming months, as a near-term departmental priority will be working to fill, not only the Planning Manager position but also the vacant Zoning Enforcement Officer and additional Planner position. The goal is to have the Community Development Department fully staffed by the new year.
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