ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF DESIGN (APPOINTED) PLANNING DEPARTMENT

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF DESIGN (APPOINTED)

PLANNING DEPARTMENT

The Associate Director of Design & Development provides senior leadership for the Planning and Development Department’s review and coordination of development activity throughout Detroit.

The position serves as PDD’s primary point of coordination for major development proposals, public land transactions, development-related City actions, zoning and land-use matters, and design review. The position is responsible for ensuring that proposed development is evaluated consistently against adopted City plans, neighborhood plans, land-use policy, zoning requirements, urban design principles, and broader Mayoral and departmental priorities.

The position bridges the City’s planning and implementation functions: translating adopted plans and policies into clear guidance for development projects and, conversely, identifying where proposed development reveals the need for changes in City policy, zoning, processes, or plans.

The position leads a multidisciplinary team responsible for development coordination, design review, zoning policy and review, and related regulatory initiatives.

1. Development and Real Estate Coordination

Serve as PDD’s senior point of coordination for significant public and private development proposals and development-related real estate transactions.

Responsibilities include:

• Establish and manage a consistent PDD review process for proposed City land sales, acquisitions, dispositions, development agreements, and other significant real estate actions requiring planning input
• Coordinate PDD review of development proposals originating through the City’s regional planning teams, DLBA, DEGC, HRD, BSEED, the Mayor’s Office, and other City departments and partner agencies
• Determine whether proposed transactions and developments are consistent with the City’s Master Plan, adopted neighborhood plans, zoning and land-use policy, urban design principles, and other relevant City plans and strategies
• Consolidate comments from appropriate PDD staff into a clear departmental position or recommendation
• Identify significant conflicts, policy questions, or unresolved issues and elevate them to PDD leadership for resolution
• Participate in or lead interdepartmental development and real-estate coordination meetings on behalf of PDD
• Develop systems for tracking significant development proposals and real-estate matters requiring PDD review
• Ensure that PDD is engaged sufficiently early in the development process to influence outcomes rather than simply reacting to completed proposals

2. Alignment of Development with City and Neighborhood Plans

Ensure that development activity advances, and not inadvertently undermines, the City’s adopted planning objectives.

Responsibilities include:

• Establish clear methods for evaluating development proposals against the Master Plan and adopted neighborhood plans
• Work closely with PDD’s regional planning teams to understand the intent and priorities of completed and active planning studies.
• Bring regional planners into project review when proposals have significant implications for an adopted or emerging neighborhood plan
• Help translate plan recommendations into actionable development guidance for City departments, developers, property owners, and partner agencies
• Identify opportunities to use development transactions to advance plan recommendations, including land use, housing, commercial corridors, public realm, mobility, open space, and community development objectives
• Identify recurring development conflicts that suggest a need for changes to zoning, design standards, City processes, or planning policy

This role does not replace regional planners as the City’s neighborhood planning experts. Rather, it provides the mechanism through which their planning work is consistently represented in development decisions.

3. Development Review and Urban Design

Provide leadership for PDD’s design review and development review functions.

Responsibilities include:

• Oversee design review for projects requiring PDD review, including projects involving public land, public incentives, major development activity, or other applicable review requirements.
• Maintain clear, predictable, and transparent design-review standards and processes.
• Ensure development proposals support high-quality urban design, context-sensitive design, appropriate site planning, and strong relationships between buildings and the public realm.
• Guide the development, application, and periodic updating of PDD design guidelines and development standards.
• Coordinate design review with BSEED’s Preliminary Plan Review (PPR) and other City development-review processes.
• Resolve significant or complex design matters and determine when issues require escalation to senior PDD leadership.

4. Zoning, Land Use and Regulatory Policy

Provide leadership for PDD’s zoning and land-use functions and ensure that regulation supports adopted planning objectives and desirable development.

Responsibilities include: 

• Oversee PDD involvement in rezonings, Special Land Uses, Board of Zoning Appeals matters, zoning reviews, sign waivers, and related land-use processes.
• Ensure consistent PDD interpretation and application of land-use and zoning policy.
• Lead or coordinate major zoning reforms and targeted ordinance amendments.
• Identify regulatory barriers that unnecessarily impede desirable development while protecting legitimate planning, neighborhood, environmental, and design objectives.
• Translate adopted planning recommendations into appropriate zoning or regulatory changes.
• Work closely with the City Planning Commission, BSEED, Law Department, and other partners on zoning policy and implementation.

5. Development Process Improvement

Continuously improve how PDD and the broader City development system interact.

Responsibilities include:

• Identify gaps, duplication, unclear ownership, and inconsistent practices within development and regulatory review.
• Establish clear workflows and decision points for matters requiring PDD involvement.
• Promote predictable review timelines and clear communication with development applicants and partner agencies.
• Develop standard review criteria, checklists, templates, guidance documents, and internal protocols where appropriate.
• Work with BSEED, DEGC, DLBA, HRD, CPC and other departments to improve cross-departmental coordination.
• Use development experience to recommend changes to policy, process, technology, or organizational structure.

6. Strategic Initiatives

Lead cross-cutting initiatives related to development, land use, zoning, urban design, and implementation of City planning priorities.

Potential initiatives may include:

• zoning modernization and reform
• adaptive reuse
• infill housing
• industrial development standards
• commercial corridor design
• reuse of institutional or vacant properties
• transit-oriented or mixed-use development
• public land disposition policy
• development-related implementation of neighborhood plan
• emerging development issues requiring coordinated City policy

Organizational Leadership 

The Director of Design & Development:

• Leads and develops staff responsible for development review, urban design, zoning and related functions.
• Establishes priorities, work plans, performance expectations, and operating procedures for the team.
• Assigns routine technical work to appropriate staff while focusing executive attention on significant projects, policy questions, interdepartmental matters, and organizational improvement.
• Builds strong working relationships with PDD regional teams and other PDD divisions.
• Represents PDD with senior City leadership, developers, property owners, community organizations, professional organizations, and partner agencies.
• Serves as a senior advisor to the PDD Director on significant development, zoning, land-use, and urban-design matters.

Key Relationships 

The position will maintain particularly close working relationships with:

Within PDD

• PDD Director and executive leadership
• Regional Planning teams
• Master Planning / citywide planning functions
• Historic Preservation
• GIS/data and other technical staff as appropriate

City and affiliated partners

• Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department
• City Planning Commission
• Detroit Land Bank Authority
• Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
• Housing and Revitalization Department
• Law Department
• Department of Public Works and transportation agencies
• Mayor’s Office and other executive departments

External

• Developers and property owners
• Architects, planners, engineers and development consultants
• Community development organizations
• Residents and neighborhood organizations
• Institutional and philanthropic partners

Desired Outcomes 

Success in the position should be evident when:

• PDD has a clear and consistently used process for reviewing significant development and real-estate transactions.
• City departments know where to go for an authoritative PDD position on a proposed development.
• Regional planning teams are routinely incorporated into development decisions affecting their planning areas.
• Development proposals are evaluated against adopted City and neighborhood plans early enough for that evaluation to matter.
• PDD comments are coordinated rather than fragmented among multiple staff or divisions.
• Design review is predictable, timely, and grounded in clear standards.
• Zoning and regulatory reforms respond to identifiable planning and development needs.
• Developers and City agencies receive clearer and more consistent direction from PDD.
• Significant development decisions reflect adopted planning policy rather than occurring independently of the City’s planning work.
• Senior PDD leadership is brought into genuine policy questions and exceptions rather than routine transactional matters.

The ideal candidate should bring substantial experience in several, but not necessarily all, of the following areas:

• Urban Planning and Land-Use Policy
• Real Estate Development or Public-Sector Development
• Development Review and Entitlement Processes
• Urban Design, Architecture, or Site Planning
• Zoning and Regulatory Policy
• Public Land Transactions and Redevelopment
• Municipal Government and Interdepartmental Coordination
• Management of multidisciplinary professional teams

Particularly important is the ability to understand development from both the planning and transaction perspectives: how land-use policy, zoning, design, infrastructure, finance, public incentives, land ownership, political priorities, and market realities combine to determine whether and how a project moves forward.