Summary

Planning Director Paul Stoddard is leaving Falls Church at the end of November for a planning role in Alexandria.
The City now has three senior positions to fill. In addition to the Planning Department, Falls Church continues to recruit directors for Human Resources and the City’s Department of Public Works.

Departing planner

The City of Falls Church will lose its lead planning staff member by the end of this month. Paul Stoddard, Director of the Planning Department (PD), will leave the City effective November 30 to become Deputy Planning Director for the City of Alexandria.

Praise for Stoddard

“Paul has had a very accomplished record here with the City of Falls Church, joining us as an intern with the City Planning Department in 2012 and rising to Planning Director in 2018,” said City Manager Wyatt Shields in a statement. Mr. Stoddard “has played a leading role as we worked together to adopt new Small Area Plans, update the City Comprehensive Plan, and manage the entitlement process for major new developments, including West Falls, Broad and Washington, Founders Row and Founders Row II.”

Planning outlook for Falls Church

Mr. Stoddard declined a request for an interview with the Falls Church Pulse, saying, “With the time I have remaining, my focus is on supporting a smooth transition for leadership and the work plan.” He did provide a link to the latest version of the City’s Five-Year Outlook, published in October 2024. The presentation walks through recently completed, ongoing, and upcoming projects, and describes how the Planning Department sees them “as coordinated efforts to deliver on the community’s vision.”

Mr. Shields also praised the collaboration of the PD, Community Planning and Economic Development Services (CPEDS) of which Planning is a part, and the Department of Public Works (DPW) staff in making the City safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

Role of the PD within CPEDS and the mission of DPW

The City’s planning staff provides development review for site plans of commercial, town house, and multifamily projects as well as special exceptions, subdivisions, and rezonings. The department also develops and implements long-range planning efforts, including the Comprehensive Plan, the Zoning Ordinance, fiscal impact modeling, and traffic calming policies, according to the City’s website.

Planning and Zoning are managed as sibling divisions within the CPEDS organization that James Snyder has led as CPEDS Director for nearly 14 years. Akida Rouzi is the City’s Zoning Administrator and oversees the Zoning Division staff. The other two divisions in CPEDS are Economic Development and Building Safety, which encompasses Permit Counter Services. The adopted budget for FY2025 states that “organizing these five work areas under one department encourages employees to break through traditional work silos that would otherwise impede new projects and investments in the City.”

In addition to his role atop CPEDS, Mr. Snyder serves as executive director for the City’s Economic Development Authority.

Organization chart for community planning staff

Organization Chart for CPEDS from the City’s FY2025 Proposed Budget document

Meanwhile, DPW encompasses seven core functions, including streets and sidewalks; traffic signals, streetlights, pavement markings, and street signage; stormwater and sanitary sewer; buildings and facilities; City fleet and equipment; urban forest and green spaces; and solid waste and recycling. DPW is organized into two divisions: Administration staff (contracting, engineering, construction, and permitting), located at City Hall, and Operations staff (infrastructure, fleet, and facilities maintenance and operation, as well as leaf collection, snow plowing, and storm cleanup), located at the Property Yard.

Three key vacancies to fill

Staff organization under the City Manager. — Organization Chart for the Falls Church City Manager

The City now faces the challenge of filling staff vacancies at the top of all three of these departments. DPW Director Zak Bradley resigned his position in August 2024 to become Chief Operating Engineer (Sewer & Streets) for Arlington County. In addition, Falls Church continues to search for a Human Resources Director to fill the role vacated by Steve Mason last June. Recruitment firm Baker Tilly is assisting the City in filling these key positions.

Further, City Manager Shields has said that the staff’s “cup is very full in terms of what we are undertaking as an organization” and as a result, City Hall does not have the bandwidth to take on additional projects. [Read Pulse post, City Council Reviews Options for the $6 Million FY2024 Budget Surplus, November 6, 2024.]

References

City of Falls Church, Virginia: 2024 Five-Year Outlook.
Adopted Budget Fiscal Year 2025. The description of Community Planning and Economic Development Services and the divisions within CPEDS and their roles begins on page G-143 of this document.