Outgoing San Francisco Planning Director John Rahaim announced his departure in September. Rich Hillis will be the next to have the job.

"Mayor London Breed has appointed a longtime ally and former planning commissioner to head the planning department, an agency charged with shaping San Francisco development as the city’s housing crisis persists," reports J.K. Dineen in a paywalled article for the San Francisco Chronicle.
"The appointee, Rich Hillis, is the executive director at Fort Mason Center For Arts and Culture and has held several senior positions at the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development. He left the Planning Commission in September after seven years to become a candidate to lead the department," adds Dineen.
Hillis is succeeding John Rahaim, "who was appointed to the position in 2008 by then-mayor Gavin Newsom," according to a separate article by the San Francisco Examiner.
"In her statement, [Mayor] Breed emphasized the need to streamline the planning process to build more homes more quickly in San Francisco, echoing her newly announced ballot measure to streamline the creation of affordable housing in San Francisco, dubbed 'Affordable Homes Now,'" according to the Examiner.
FULL STORY: Meet the planning chief Mayor Breed tapped to shape SF development and build 50,000 homes

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
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Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
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Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
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MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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