Columbia County Welcomes New Planning Director
Rich Hendricksen officially began his new job as Columbia County's Director of Planning on October 15. But by then he had already attended meetings of the county and the City of Dayton planning commissions. Hendricksen says he intends to work closely with city officials on growth issues. Dayton's Urban Growth Area, as defined by the county's Comprehensive Plan, includes several unincorporated areas outside Dayton's city limits. "Even though these areas fall under the county's permitting jurisdiction," says Hendricksen, "the city must plan for delivery of services to these areas. We have to work together."
In 1980 Hendricksen went to work in long range and park planning for the City of Irvine, California. He had just received his certification as an Urban Planner from the University of California at Irvine. For the next 16 years he worked in planning offices in several California cities and counties, including Placentia, Westminster, Orange County and the city of Los Banos, where he was Community Development Director for six years.
"We saw our fair share of difficult growth issues," says Hendricksen. These included housing, transportation and water rights issues. He also witnessed the development of wind energy projects in the area around Los Banos.
In 1996 Hendricksen moved to Washington and became the first Planning Director ever hired by the city of Sunnyside, WA. "Much of my family had moved to the northwest," he says. "My folks wanted to have the grandkids nearby." Hendricksen's mother and his sister and her family live in Poulsbo. Hendricksen moved from Sunnyside to Sequim in 1998, as its Planning Director. He worked in Sequim in various capacities until this year.
When asked how he feels about stepping into the middle of a controversial issue like wind energy development, Hendricksen says he will try to take the role of an advisor. "I'm a technician," he says. "My job is to make sure the county is doing everything required of it by the Growth Management Act and that we have a robust planning process in place. The hard decisions about land use and development are up to the county's elected officials."
Hendricksen says he plans to focus on maintaining excellent customer service in the planning office, for both planning and permitting. His office will handle building permits for both city and county residents.
Hendricksen and his wife Mary have three grown sons and a daughter who will graduate from high school in Sequim this spring. They have recently purchased a home in Dayton.
Copyright (c) 2007, Blue Mountain News