Berkeley City Council is set to appoint former Oakland deputy director of planning and zoning Eric Angstadt as the city’s new director of planning at its meeting Tuesday night.
If appointed, Angstadt will be the administrative head of the Department of Planning and manage a staff of more than 58 people and an $11 million budget, according to city spokesperson Mary Kay Clunies-Ross. He will also inherit an expected operating budget shortfall of $566,144 in the department’s Permit Service Center.
Deputy Director of Planning Wendy Cosin has served as interim planning director since last July, when former director Dan Marks retired from the position.
The city began searching for a new planning director last fall, accepting applications between mid-November and mid-December 2011.
According to the staff report recommending his appointment to the council, Angstadt will receive a starting salary of $174,996. That is exactly $42,000 more than the starting salary when Marks was appointed in 2004 and a slight increase from the $169,179 the San Francisco Chronicle reported Angstadt received working for the city of Oakland in 2008.
“Mr. Angstadt will provide strong leadership to the Planning and Development Department as it addresses constrained resources, while simultaneously facing exciting land use planning opportunities,” the report reads.
In his six years working with Oakland, Angstadt was involved in multiple projects, such as the International Boulevard Transit-Oriented Development Plan, which received an award for public outreach by the Northern California Chapter of the American Planning Association.
“Eric will be greatly missed. He is a consummate professional who has made a significant mark in Oakland. We wish him well, and we’re glad that the East Bay region as a whole will continue to benefit from his expertise,” said Karen Boyd, citywide communications director for the city of Oakland.
If confirmed by the council, Angstadt’s appointment would be effective no later than April 30.
Adelyn Baxter is the lead city government reporter.
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