New Director
Jeff Murphy will be joining the City of Carlsbad as our new Community Development Department director. Jeff currently serves as the director of development services for the City of Murrieta.
Several things caused Jeff to stand out from what was an impressive field of candidates for this important city role:
Strong, hands on background in all aspects of community development, including planning, affordable housing, environmental regulations, development services, building and code enforcement, and land development engineering
Experience with the specific issues affecting coastal California cities
Experience on the business side, in real estate and construction industry consulting, focused on economic forecasting and analysis
An educational background that includes a bachelor’s degree in planning and land use and master’s degree in public administration and city planning
Over his 25 year career, Jeff has earned a reputation for leading teams and getting things done. We will immediately benefit from his recent experience updating the City of Encinitas’s Housing Element, as well as insights gained from his time working for other public agencies, large and small. Jeff’s first day will be Jan. 21.
Department Changes
In addition to new leadership, this department will undergo some structural changes in the coming weeks that will result in a name change and the following five divisions:
Building & Code Enforcement
Code enforcement is reuniting with building to form a division called Building & Code Enforcement, similar to the structure in place prior to code being assigned to Housing & Neighborhood Services several years ago. We are currently recruiting for a building and code enforcement manager to head up this division.
Housing Services
Neighborhood services, such as the mediation and volunteer programs, are now overseen by the volunteer coordinator reporting to HR. The Homeless Response Plan manager position was recently moved to the Police Department to work more closely with the Homeless Outreach Team. This leaves the city’s affordable housing programs and community grants as a new, stand-alone division, currently led on an interim basis by Principal Planner Dave De Cordova.
Development Services
No changes to this division lead by Jeremy Riddle.
Land Development Engineering
No changes to this division lead by Jason Geldert.
Planning
No changes to this division lead by Don Neu.
Economic Development
Economic Development will move to the Office of the City Manager, reporting to Chief Innovation Officer David Graham. This will complement the work David is already doing to strengthen partnerships with Carlsbad’s tech sector, and create new opportunities for the city’s top leadership to support the city’s economic development goals. David will soon be recruiting for a new economic development manager.