Директор по планированию и зонированию Гранд-каунти уходит в Прово через 10 месяцев работы

Grand County Planning and Zoning Director Andrew Jackson will leave Sept. 15 for a job with Provo City, less than 10 months after he began leading the department. Jackson is the fourth permanent director to lead Planning and Zoning since 2021. County spokesperson Melisa Jeffers said Grand County is reviewing options for an interim appointment but has not made a final decision. The search for a permanent director will begin immediately, she said. Jackson told The Times-Independent that his decision was based entirely on geography and a desire to be closer to his family. His wife, children and grandchildren live in Orem, and he said he has been making an eight-hour round trip from Moab each weekend to be with them. Jackson said he had not been looking for another job and had expected to remain with Grand County for years, but applied after a friend sent him the Provo City opening. He will become a planner III for Provo City, working on special projects and mentoring other planners. “Everyone here has just been so wonderful to work with,” Jackson said. “We’ve really accomplished a lot. That speaks volumes about the quality of staff, elected officials, appointed officials, and the public, who all work together.” The county received Jackson’s notice Sept. 1, Jeffers said. Slavin Management Consultants, the firm that conducted the search leading to Jackson’s hiring, will conduct the new recruitment at no additional cost to the county. The signed agreement authorized up to about $44,300 for the original planning director and county engineer searches combined. It included a two-year guarantee requiring Slavin to repeat a search at no cost if a hire left within that period. Jackson’s departure will leave four positions open across the county’s Building and Planning and Zoning departments: planning and zoning director, chief building official, permit technician and associate planner, Jeffers said. Jeffers said the county will work to minimize impacts on department services, pending applications and major projects. She did not identify expected delays or other specific effects and said the county still anticipates adopting its rewritten land use code by the end of October. “Andrew accomplished a great deal during his tenure with Grand County, moving the Land Use Code forward and positioning the County to complete this critical, long-standing project,” Jeffers wrote in an email. “His work, expertise, and experience added value to the County, the Planning & Zoning Department, and the process, and the Administration wishes him the best in his future endeavors.” Jackson succeeded Amy Weiser, who left in February 2025 after approximately six months as director. Interim zoning administrators, including county civil paralegal Cristin Hofhine and later County Engineer Sean Yeates, oversaw the department during the more than nine months before Jackson’s hiring. The leadership turnover is part of longer-running recruitment and retention challenges. In February 2025, then-County Engineer Dan Stenta said retention in the department had been problematic for five to eight years. County Commission Administrator Mark Tyner later said rural gateway communities often have small populations but planning workloads comparable to those of midsize cities. Among the department’s major pending projects is the rewrite of the Grand County Land Use Code, which governs development in unincorporated areas. County commissioners selected Sunrise Engineering in April to prepare the long-delayed rewrite. The consultant began with an audit that identified outdated or inconsistent provisions, conflicts within the code and previously adopted ordinances that had not been incorporated into the official text. Jackson said Sept. 2 that Sunrise’s rewritten draft was expected to be completed that week. He said the planning commission would review it in late September, with adoption anticipated by the end of October. Jeffers said the county still expects to meet that timeline. Jackson described the project as primarily a technical rewrite intended to bring the code into compliance with changes in state law and improve its organization, consistency and usability. He said major policy decisions are not part of the rewrite, although it will include procedural changes required by state law, including changes to who approves final subdivision plats. “Some may say that’s too fast, but it’s been recognized as a need for many years,” Jackson said of the anticipated schedule. Jackson’s final day will fall one day after the planning commission’s next meeting. He said he is preparing a transition memorandum outlining projects in progress and the steps needed to complete them and expressed confidence in the planning and building staff. Other ongoing work includes proposed changes to the ordinance and bylaws governing the planning commission to bring them into compliance with state law. Jackson said future work will include updates to the county’s general plan and future land use plans, as well as support for other departments developing strategies and plans for development areas. During Jackson’s tenure, the county adopted the Water Use and Preservation Element of its general plan. Jackson said he also reorganized department documents and developed flow charts intended to help property owners understand county requirements and navigate approval processes “without needing a planning degree.”