Salisbury Planning Director Janet Gapen has announced her retirement, effective Friday, Nov. 9.
Gapen began her tenure with the city in 2003 as planner, transitioned to senior planner, and later promoted to planning director in 2013. As a senior planner, she focused primarily on neighborhood planning, historic preservation and community development.
During her time as planning director, Gapen has been responsible for leading the city’s long-range design projects, managing the planning budget, and securing grant resources to accomplish the city's goals. Under her leadership, the City of Salisbury received a designation as a Gold Level Fit Community through the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund. In addition, Gapen was a part of the West End Transformation Plan, in which Salisbury was a recipient of a planning grant from the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Choice Neighborhoods initiative.
“Throughout Janet’s tenure she has been instrumental in securing funds to accomplish the city’s goals related to growth, redevelopment and improving quality of life for our residents,” said City Manager W. Lane Bailey. “Janet was a valuable member of our management team and we appreciate her service to our city. We wish her well as she begins this new chapter in her life.”
“It has been an honor to serve the citizens of Salisbury,” said Gapen. “I am going to miss the daily interactions with such talented and dedicated city employees, in addition to the volunteers and other organizations I’ve had the pleasure to work with. I feel so fortunate to have spent most of my planning career in Salisbury, where planning and visioning have been such a priority. I’m excited to see what comes next for the city.”
Gapen received a bachelor’s degree in urban planning and regional analysis from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and was a graduate of the inaugural class of the City Manager’s Leadership Academy (CMLA).