John Schlichting has been a developer for 26 years, but on July 9th he leaves private business to become the planning director for the City of Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Schichtling's leap hasn't come entirely out of the blue - he has also served on the city council, and been a longtime proponent of New Urbanism. As an architecture student at the University of Virginia, he studied under Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and Andres Duany:
Schichtling told the Maryland Gazette that as Planning and Code Administration director "...he plans to continue focusing the city on the kind of mixed-use and transit-oriented development emphasized as "smart growth" both in Gaithersburg and throughout Montgomery County."
Schictling also told the reporter that he is a big fan of The Kentlands, a nearby New Urbanist development, and he often gives people tours there to illustrate New Urbanist ideas.
FULL STORY: New city planning director a student of Gaithersburg neighborhoods, design
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