Medlin in as Planning Department Director

Word is out this morning that Steve Medlin is having the "interim" removed from his title and has accepted a permanent position as Director of the joint City/County Planning Department.

Melissa Rooney, a south Durham activist who focuses on land use and development issues is guest blogging over at BCR this week (along with myself, Michael, Aidil, and Carl Stearns Chuck Clifton). She's impressed that Medlin's got the job:

Since former City/County Planning Director Frank Duke left the post last summer (for a similar job in Norfolk, VA), Steve Medlin has been the interim planning director, and he has quickly demonstrated his commitment to the long-term health and viability of ALL of Durham -- urban, suburban and rural.

The announcement of Medlin’s permanent position as planning director is certainlytimely, as it occurred only days after the News and Observer posted an article on the “Morreene Rd. zoning fiasco” (Saturday, 1 March, 2008), highlighting the mess left by former planning director Frank Duke. “The heart of the matter is former planning director Frank Duke's interpretation [‘regarding setback, buffer and surface requirements’] of Durham's Unified Development Ordinance, which allowed SunRay to construct its building, and his explanation of that interpretation in an e-mail exchange with some of the building's
eighbors,” explains the article.

. . .

It’s no surprise that many Durham citizens are breathing a sigh of relief with Duke’s
replacement by Steve Medlin. And there’s no doubt they are now breathing more deeply,
in the knowledge that Medlin is here to stay. Afterall, it’s easier to breath when the
air is clean.