Anchorage

Berkowitz hires Juneau official as new Anchorage planning director

The administration of Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has tapped a Juneau housing and development official to be the city's new planning director.

Hal Hart, who has served as Juneau's community development director, will be charged with overseeing city planning and transportation projects, as well as making the city planning department more "customer-friendly," Berkowitz said in a statement Friday.

The current community development director, Jerry Weaver, will retire Sept. 25 after a 40-year career with the city, according to Berkowitz's statement. Weaver also serves as city planning director.

Hart's hiring coincides with a reorganization under the newly formed Office of Economic and Community Development, headed by Chris Schutte. In 2010, the city's planning and development services departments were consolidated into Community Development divisions by the administration of Mayor Dan Sullivan. The Berkowitz administration is now taking the reverse course, returning planning and development services to separate departments overseen by Schutte.

Schutte's office also now includes the city Parks and Recreation department, the library and the Anchorage Museum. In a Friday interview, Schutte said the structure of his office reflects efforts to find a "more holistic approach" for improving the community.

Schutte said Hart's hiring was strategic. Juneau's high development costs parallel what's seen in Anchorage, he said, and both cities are trying to focus on coordination between public and private entities.

Weaver said in an interview Friday that he'd been considering retirement for some time.

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"I grew up here; I love the community," said Weaver, who started work as a city planning technician in 1975. "And planning takes a lot of incremental changes to see the cumulative effect."

Berkowitz heard frequently about development issues in his campaign for mayor. A key recommendation in his transition committee was to "improve operations (at the city permitting center) so Anchorage residents, developers and builders can more quickly move projects forward," according to the statement from the mayor's office.

Myer Hutchinson, a spokesman for Berkowitz, said Hart's appointment reflects the mayor's vision for "a pro-redevelopment agenda at City Hall."

Devin Kelly

Devin Kelly was an ADN staff reporter.

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