Kittery selects Jason Garnham as new planning director

KITTERY, Maine − The town has tapped a Kittery resident to lead its Planning and Development Department.

Jason Garnham, formerly the planning director and city planner of Saco and the previous senior planner for the city of Kent, Washington, stepped into the role on Monday, Dec. 5.

A New England native, Garnham and his family moved back to the Seacoast and southern Maine region in the summer of 2021 after living in Seattle for many years.

“My favorite part of municipal planning work is hearing people’s stories, learning about their plans and goals, and helping them achieve them,” he said. “So I’m really looking forward to getting to know people in the community, especially since I’ve made Kittery my home.”

Garnham replaces former town planning department head Adam Causey, who left the post in October to take the long-range planning director position with the Town of Falmouth. Hired from Georgia, where he grew up and attended school, Causey had served as Kittery’s planning director since April 2018.

Town Manager Kendra Amaral announced the hire at a recent Town Council meeting.

“I’m very excited about him joining the team. I think he’s going to have a positive impact overall on our community and that department specifically,” she said.

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A graduate of the University of New Hampshire with his bachelor’s degree in political science, Garnham later went on to receive a master’s degree in urban design and planning at the University of Washington.

“He has an exceptional background in municipal planning. He brings a wealth of experience in planning policy,” Amaral said.

Garnham expressed excitement in being able to work in municipal planning in his home community, adding that the long commute to Saco was a primary reason for his interest in the Kittery post.

Affordable housing is the “issue of our time,” he continued, and its impacts trickle down into other problems faced by many people and businesses in the region.

“I don’t claim to have the answers,” he said. “I think we need to look carefully at the solutions that are available at the local level and find ways to develop a vision of what will work for the community.”

During the town’s comprehensive planning, Amaral noted, a focal point of discussion with residents was the feeling that the town needs to do a better job of supporting applicants and customers through land use and permitting processes.

In his interviews, Amaral said Garnham focused on a commitment to maintaining a customer-centric approach in his work.

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“We have put a lot of work into that and making sure we are doing that. We’re helping people through the process, we’re guiding, we’re giving as many resources and attention as we possibly can,” she said. “Jason really latched onto that and was able to talk a lot about how that’s how he approaches his work and how he approaches municipal service.”

Garnham enters the position eager to turn his attention to projects such as planning for the future of the town’s Route 1 Corridor and the Business Park zone, the site of major interest earlier this year after residents blocked a 900-unit development proposal with designated commercial space from moving forward by successfully petitioning for zoning changes. He added that the planning department will continue to look to improve local transportation options as well as walkability and bicycle conditions in town.

“It sounds to me like a lot of great work has already been done here in Kittery and I’m excited to be involved in continued progress,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Jason Garnham is Kittery ME new director of planning and development