NC planner picked to lead Knox MPC

Gerald Green, a professional planner with decades of experience in East Tennessee and North Carolina, has been named the new Executive Director of the Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission.

Green, currently the Planning Director for Jackson County, N.C., was selected by Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett after a six-month search process.

Jackson County Planning Director Gerald Green, left, receives the Edwin M. Gill Award during the June 3 commissioners’ meeting from N.C. Association of County Commissioners

Photo: Sylva Herald

Green has a Master’s degree in City Planning from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a B.A. in Urban Affairs from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He worked as Principal Planner for the East Tennessee Development District from 1979-1982, and in the decades since has also worked as a Senior Planner and Chief Planner for the City of Asheville, N.C., and in private practice as owner of NFocus Planning and Design in Asheville. He has been in his current position with Jackson County, N.C., since 2010.

“I am very excited to return to East Tennessee to work with the City and County and the talented group of professionals at MPC,” Green said. “I have returned to Knoxville often over the years, and I am impressed with all of the progress and growth the area has seen. I look forward to helping to build on that momentum through all of the planning services that MPC can provide.”

MPC was established in 1956 by Knoxville and Knox County as the agency responsible for comprehensive county-wide planning and administration of zoning and land subdivision regulations and remains so today, except for the town of Farragut. Funding for MPC activities comes primarily from City and County appropriations and from federal grants for specific initiatives.

Green will oversee a staff of 35, with duties that include preparing and adopting a General Plan; reviewing subdivision regulations and site plans; preparing and recommending zoning ordinances and maps to the Knox County Commission and Knoxville City Council; and reviewing proposed zoning amendments.

“MPC provides vital services to the City of Knoxville, and it is crucial that we have effective leadership at the agency,” Mayor Rogero said. “We had a very strong pool of applicants for this position, and Gerald really stood out. His background in both city and county planning, and his familiarity with Knoxville and East Tennessee, will make him a great asset to all of the constituents MPC serves.”

“I look forward to working with Gerald as the new director of MPC,” Mayor Burchett said. “In a very real way, the organization’s work affects everyone in Knox County, from individual residents to business owners, which is why the director’s position requires effective communication with the public. Ultimately, that is who everyone in government works for.”

Green was selected from more than 30 applicants for the position, and was one of three finalists interviewed by the mayors and a joint City-County search committee. Green will begin his duties on July 1, succeeding former MPC Executive Director Mark Donaldson, who retired at the end of 2014. Jeff Welch, Executive Director of the Transportation Planning Organization, will continue to serve as interim director of MPC until then.