At its January 20 meeting, the Springfield Planning Commission elected Sophie McGinley as Chair and Andrew Landen as Vice-Chair, effective immediately.
Sophie McGinley first contributed to Springfield starting in September 2017 when she began a year-long internship at the City in transportation planning while a student at the University of Oregon. She graduated with a BS in Planning, Public Policy and Management in 2018 and started working as a private-sector planner for Metro Planning. Currently, she lives in Springfield and works as an assistant planner for the City of Eugene. The Mayor and City Council appointed her to serve on Springfield’s Planning Commission in October 2018. She sees this opportunity to serve as Chairperson as another way to expand on her passion for public engagement and providing opportunities for public involvement in the land use process.
Appointed in April of 2015, Andrew Landen brings more than five years of experience as a Commissioner to his new role as Vice-Chair. “Andy” works in the field of information technology for Peace Health. As a resident of Springfield, he can often be seen biking or running through the city. He has served for several years as the Planning Commission’s liaison to Springfield’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC).
In additional business, the Planning Commission welcomed Matt Salazar to his first meeting as a newly appointed Commissioner. The Commission unanimously voted to elect Kuri Gill as Council liaison, Andrew Landen to continue as the BPAC liaison, Michael Koivula as the liaison to the Community Development Advisory Committee, and Grace Bergen and Sophie McGinley to continue serving on the Governance Committee for the Development Code Update Project.
The Springfield Planning Commission consists of seven appointed volunteers who together make land use decisions on complex development applications, advise the City Council on land use policy, and serve as the Committee for Citizen Involvement. For information about upcoming Planning Commission meetings, go to springfieldoregonspeaks.org or contact Sandy Belson at 541.736.7135 or sbelson@springfield-or.gov.