City Names New Assistant Director for Development Services

Long-time city employee Bill Ramsey just got a new title at City Hall: assistant development services director, the city announced in a press release Thursday afternoon.

Ramsey has worked for San Juan Capistrano for 21 years, first as a senior planner and most recently as a principal planner.

Ramsey served as secretary to the City's Cultural Heritage Commission from 1997 to 2003. In 1998, he was project manager on the comprehensive update of the , a plan that guides development in the historic neighborhood.

Ramsey worked closely with the City Council-appointed Los Rios Ad-hoc Committee and authored the project's environmental impact report, which focused on maintaining the integrity of the National Register Historic District.

The City Council decided earlier this month  and instead opt to fill the assistant development services director, which had gone unfunded and unfilled until now. Some of the duties of the preservation manager were to be rolled into the assistant director position.

In a press release, City Manager Karen Brust said Ramsey is the perfect fit for the job.

"Bill brings over 30 years of planning experience to the city with the majority of his career in San Juan Capistrano," she said. "He has demonstrated to me a thorough knowledge of the city, its rich history and the significance of tradition. As such, he will be a wonderful advocate and steward to ensure our beautiful city remains the charming community that it is today and in the future.”

Ramsey authored the City's "bed & breakfast" ordinance, which allows the adaptive re-use of historic structures in the city and provides an incentive for historic preservation.

He implemented the city's Mills Act contract program and prepared the first Mills Act contract with the owners of the Hankey-Rouse Cottage.

During Ramsey’s tenure as Cultural Heritage Commission secretary, he was responsible for reviewing numerous projects for compliance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards including , the Rios Adobe, the Hankey-Rouse Cottage, Mission Promenade, the the Apple Rose Cottage, and others, according to the city.

He was instrumental in helping to secure the preservation of the Buddy Forster Mansion and the Arly Leck House. He also co-prepared the , which the city received a $500,000 award in 2010, and he designed the site concept in collaboration with the Blas Aguilar Foundation.

Before joining San Juan Capistrano's team, Ramsey served for two years as the assistant planning director for Los Alamo County, N.M. and as the senior planner for Loudoun County, Va. In that state, he staffed the County's Historic Resources Commission and was responsible for project management within the Goose Creek Historic District.

Ramsey said he's eager to get started in his new position.

"I'm excited to once again be involved in a larger role in helping the city protect it's important historic and cultural resources and assisting the dity's Cultural Heritage Commission and City Council in their on-going efforts to pursue the city's motto of 'Preserving the past to enhance the future,'" he said.

Ramsey received his Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 1984 with a concentration in environmental resource management. He has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) since 1987. He's also a member of the California Preservation Foundation.