Bill Fulton On What It Will Take to Rebuild San Diego's Planning Department

Bill Fulton, noted Smart Growth advocate and Director of Planning for the City of San Diego, looks to rebuild a department and pass community plans in the wake of San Diego's leadership crisis. In this interview, he describes the path ahead.

2 minute read

September 26, 2013, 9:00 AM PDT

By Kevin Madden


Smart Growth advocate and former Mayor of Ventura, California Bill Fulton was appointed in June by then Mayor Bob Filner to serve as Director of Planning for the City of San Diego; his charge: to revitalize a department that had been merged with Development Services by a previous mayor, Jerry Sanders. Though Mayor Filner has since left office, Fulton remains tasked with reconstituting and strengthening a stand-alone planning department while carrying new community plans to fruition.

The Planning Report spoke with Fulton to discuss how a city planning department’s structure influences planning and to ascertain his priorities going forward. In the wake of budget cuts and recession, planning in San Diego had fallen by the wayside. For Fulton, this spelled opportunity, and Mayor Filner was indeed elected on a platform centered on neighborhood planning.

Today, Fulton relies on his vast and varied experiences to carry on the mission, saying in reference to his former position as Mayor of Ventura, "I’m amazed at how frequently I take the skills I learned in that job and apply them here, and it’s not just political savvy, although that is part of it. It is understanding the experience of—and this is also true in my experience and deep history as a planning commissioner in West Hollywood—actually having to use these documents and figuring out how to use them effectively to create the built environment you are looking for."

Wednesday, September 25, 2013 in The Planning Report

Sweeping view of Portland, Oregon with Mt. Hood in background against sunset sky.

Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary

Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.

March 12, 2024 - Housing Wire

Aerial view of green roofs with plants in Sydney, Australia.

Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024

A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.

March 10, 2024 - Daily Journal of Commerce

Cobblestone street with streetcar line, row of vintage streetlights on left, and colorful restaurant and shop awnings on right on River Street in Savannah, Georgia.

Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts

From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.

March 12, 2024 - Strong Towns

Aerial View of Chuckanut Drive and the Blanchard Bridge in the Skagit Valley.

Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding

The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.

7 hours ago - The Seattle Times

Historic buildings in downtown Los Angeles with large "Pan American Lofts" sign on side of building.

Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly

The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.

March 18 - Beverly Press

View from above of swan-shaped paddleboats with lights on around artesian fountain in Echo Park Lake with downtown Los Angeles skylien in background at twilight.

LA's Top Parks, Ranked

TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.

March 18 - TimeOut

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.