PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF SPRINGFIELD
Town of Springfield has employed Sean Pritchard as knowledgeable planner, working within the Workplace of Planning and Financial Improvement.
Sean Pritchard is many issues: 35 years outdated, a father of 5, a lifelong northender and, as of this month, the primary metropolis planner in Springfield’s 203-year historical past.
His appointment to the publish throughout the metropolis’s Workplace of Planning and Financial Improvement, which garners a wage of almost $90,000, raised eyebrows amongst some within the planning occupation.
“The standard planner in a mid-sized metropolis of round 100,000 could be somebody with a grasp’s diploma in city planning,” stated Andrew Greenlee, a professor of city and regional planning at College of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “Many native authorities planners additionally select to develop into licensed planners and pursue the American Institute of Licensed Planner’s credential.”
Pritchard does not have a university diploma. He attended Lincoln Land Neighborhood Faculty however by no means earned an affiliate’s diploma.
Stephanie Brown, president of the Illinois chapter of the American Planning Affiliation, stated the capital metropolis has been an outlier amongst Illinois municipalities in that it has not had a planner on employees.
Because the Seventies, town has contracted with the Springfield-Sangamon County Regional Planning Fee for its planning work. The closest Springfield has come to having a metropolis planner was when then-Mayor Tim Davlin employed Paul O’Shea in 2006 to function town’s planning and design coordinator. O’Shea, an architect who additionally had in depth expertise in historic preservation, held the place till 2015. Nevertheless, he was clear that his position was not the identical as that of a real metropolis planner.
In a Guestwork column O’Shea wrote for Illinois Occasions, he recounted the dialog he had with Davlin when he was first requested to return work for town (“Springfield wants a metropolis planner,” June 2, 2016).
“…I am an architect and I respect those that possess the training, formal coaching, expertise and experience of a metropolis planner, so it is best for me to not assume the expectations of that position,” O’Shea informed Davlin, explaining why he did not need the title of metropolis planner.
Brown stated there is no such thing as a exact qualification to be part of the occupation.
“For essentially the most half, we both have a four-year bachelor’s diploma in city planning or a bachelor’s diploma in some associated fields like geography, political science, structure or panorama structure, after which a grasp’s diploma in city and regional planning,” she stated.
However she added since city planners are usually not a licensed occupation, there are not any minimal academic credentials that should be met, not like architects or engineers.
“City planning is difficult to outline typically as a result of it’s so numerous… the place folks come from. It could possibly be extra the advocacy aspect of issues to the technical financial growth. You may have a variety of backgrounds and nonetheless discover your approach into city planning,” Brown stated.
“There are individuals who function city planners throughout the state who didn’t get an training particularly in city planning. However they type of discovered their approach into the occupation by some means,” she stated.
Pritchard stated he left school as a result of he grew to become a father at a younger age.
“I began a level, however I had a toddler at a younger age,” he stated. “I am so happy with her. She’s going to be a freshman subsequent yr.”
Early in his profession, Pritchard offered insurance coverage for Horace Mann and later did underwriting and inner audits for the corporate. In between stints at Horace Mann, he was a monetary gross sales guide at PNC financial institution and a enterprise growth supervisor at Barnes & Noble.
Pritchard joined the Illinois Division of Commerce and Financial Alternative in February 2020. One of many positions he served in was performing deputy director of enterprise growth, the place he performed a task in creating and managing incentive packages that generated enterprise investments throughout Illinois.
Pritchard famous that he has acquired “a large number of designations” all through his employment experiences.
“Not solely do I’ve certifications in cybersecurity, however I’ve a number of designations and certifications throughout the gamut. I am licensed as a ladies’s enterprise advocate by one of many banks that I labored with. I am an affiliate of customer support by what was referred to as LOMA, a nationally acknowledged designation of insurance coverage firms,” he stated.
Val Yazell, town’s director of planning and financial growth, stated she is just not involved that Pritchard doesn’t have a level. Each Yazell and Mayor Misty Buscher’s chief of employees, Mike Disco, interviewed Pritchard for the job.
“For me, what was interesting was his expertise with DCEO, understanding sources for the neighborhood, and he simply type of thinks outdoors the field, which is one thing that I believe we’d like. We have to rethink methods to method growth within the metropolis,” Yazell stated.
Pritchard stated two precedence areas for revitalization are Springfield’s impoverished east aspect and town’s downtown.
“(I) wish to concentrate on the east aspect and downtown – piggybacking off of the work of the Medical District plan – simply understanding how we are able to convey extra companies, extra inexpensive housing to each downtown and east aspect,” he stated.
Yazell, who will retire on the finish of this month, described the planner as somebody who will “fine-tune” the imaginative and prescient for town.
“I believe that is somebody who can be working in financial growth but additionally assist the mayor fine-tune her imaginative and prescient, concentrate on the areas the place she’s placing out fires. … This can be somebody who may have a devoted period of time to spend wanting on the metropolis and evaluating the place land growth needs to be (and) analyzing a number of the knowledge that we have now that, sadly, typically simply sits on the cabinets.”
Scott Reeder, a employees author for Illinois Occasions, may be reached at [email protected].
