Planning director outlines reorganization to align staff with Thrive goals and climate, transportation priorities

Jason Sartore, the county Planning Director, described a multi‑month reorganization of Montgomery Planning that splits functions into new divisions and adjusts geographic teams to prioritize corridor planning, environmental resilience and design.

Sartore told the Planning, Housing and Parks Committee that the restructuring resulted from a yearlong strategic plan process that identified 149 actions and five priorities; staff reorganized by function and then assigned people to divisions to increase consistency, reduce duplication and strengthen subject‑matter leadership.

Why it matters: the department manages master plans, development reviews and environmental compliance for the county. Council members said a clearer organizational structure should improve interagency coordination, speed decision points for applicants, and make it easier for residents to find the right staff contact.

Sartore said the department created four new functional divisions'Design, Placemaking and Policy; Historic Preservation; Transportation Planning; and Environment and Climate'and realigned three regional planning divisions (Up County, East County and West County). He said the Design, Placemaking and Policy division "combine[d] the housing, infrastructure and zoning team" with urban design staff to implement Thrive recommendations, and the Environment and Climate Division consolidates Reforest Montgomery and the Forest Conservation Enforcement team to coordinate resilience work.

Sartore described the change as function‑first: staff listed planning functions, grouped them against the strategic priorities, formed divisions and then assigned people to teams based on expertise. He told the committee the department will update formal job functions and performance goals for division chiefs and track the 149 strategic actions by assigning leadership owners.

Division chiefs and other leaders who spoke or were named in the presentation included Atul Sharma (Design, Placemaking and Policy), Rebecca Ballo (Historic Preservation, acting chief), Dave Anspacher (Transportation Planning), Christina Sorrento (Environment and Climate), Carrie McCarthy (Research and Strategic Projects), Chris Pfeiffer (Communications and Engagement), Vince Hu (Information Technology and Innovation) and Karen Warnecke (Management Services). Paul Mortensen and Khalid Afzal were identified as departmental leads for planning innovation/design excellence and equity initiatives respectively.

Sartore said staff have already begun operational changes: co‑locating division staff in shared workspaces, running leadership and functional retreats, and launching a pre‑application portal to help applicants schedule cross‑division meetings. He also said the reorganization has clarified staffing gaps that will inform the FY27 budget request and noted the department remains about 28 positions below its 2009 staffing level.

Committee members asked how the transition affects stakeholders and points of contact. Sartore said project leads generally stayed with their plans so communities retain continuity; for development applications he said staff completed active reviews before transferring them to new teams. A deputy director added that leadership and division chiefs are meeting with regional service center directors and community groups to communicate contact changes.

Council members welcomed the reorganization and urged staff to maintain lines of communication with regional services offices, to monitor workloads and to return with updates. Committee members said they would review whether new geographic boundaries align with other county service boundaries and encouraged planning to continue outreach while the department settles into the new structure.

Sartore said the department expects to see the full benefits of the reorganization within 6 to 12 months and will monitor outcomes through the assigned strategic actions.