A reorganization of the Planning and Development Department has been in the works for some time. On July 1, the department officially separated into two departments.

The Department of City Planning, led by Ken Bowers, includes Long-Range Planning, Zoning Administration, Communications, the Urban Design Center, Real Estate, and Transportation Planning. The Development Services Department will be led by Thomas Hosey, who currently holds the position of Building Official for the City of Houston, TX. Thomas will assume his duties in Raleigh on August 3rd.  The Development Services Department provides services related to customer service, plan intake, and development plan review at the DSCSC and Litchford satellite office, as well as Building Inspections and Information Management.

When I first came to work for the City back in 2009, Development Services was a division of the City Manager’s office. It was led by Hamid Dolikhani (who is currently the Interim Deputy Inspections Director), and included about twenty-five employees who staffed the Development Services Customer Service Center (DSCSC), which opened in 2010.

As the manager of the DSCSC for its first four years, I watched the division grow to include Current Planning, and the permitting operations at the Litchford Satellite office.

Since joining the Communication team last year, more organizational changes have occurred. Today, Development Services is no longer a division of the City Manager’s office. And it is not under the umbrella of Planning. Seeing the need for a department that oversees development review and inspections, the City established a new stand-alone department called Development Services. Led by Tom Hosey, it includes two divisions (Land Development and Building Development) and a team of more than 120 employees.