Seattle Mayor to Create New 'Office of Planning and Community Development'

"With dramatic growth taking hold in Seattle, Mayor Ed Murray wants to overhaul how the City of Seattle manages city planning and capital investments across City government," reports Stephen Fesler. Mayor Murray's method for the overhaul: creating a new, cabinet-level agency within the Mayor's Office known as the Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD).

According to Fesler, Mayor Murray will create the new office via executive order, and the OPCD "would be tasked with a broad range of strategic planning functions like transportation, land use, housing, utilities, and parks." Moreover, "Planners and technicians from various City workgroups will be consolidated into one body with the hope that increased collaboration leads to better alignment and implementation of projects and plans."

The remainder of the article includes more details about how the city will restructure its resources to create the OPCD. Because the OPCD will rely on existing staff, the change is expected to have substantial impact on the city's Department of Planning and Development. Mayor Murray has targeted September for the announcement of a formal plan of implementation for the OPCD.