Planning Department items: 

New Development Services Employees:  The Development Services Department has hired two new employees that are both scheduled to start work for the City in September. These two employees will share an office in City Hall that was previously shared by the Senior Planner and Associate Planner. 

Chris Relyea is the new Code Enforcement Specialist and starts on September 11. He will be the first employee in this new role that was supported by the City Council with the 2023/2025 biennium budget. This position will relieve our existing code enforcement position in the Police Department of some of his duties that are Development Services related and also will enable the City to become more proactive in code enforcement actions. Mr. Relyea is a Sandy resident and has opted for a career change into the world of local government employment. He has many years of experience in streamlining processes, leading projects, and creative problem solving.

Patrick Depa is the City of Sandy’s new Senior Planner and starts on September 18. This position has been vacant since early March when Emily Meharg left for the City of Portland. The responsibilities of this position are primarily related to land use review, long range planning, and urban renewal projects. This position will also work with Code Enforcement, Economic Development and Public Works to achieve their goals. Mr. Depa has many years of experience in local planning and was most recently working as an associate planner for Benton County. In his role with Benton County he was responsible for overseeing planning in Adair Village, Monroe, and Philomath.

The Development Services Department is excited to welcome both Chris and Patrick! If you are in City Hall, please stop by and introduce yourself.