Santa Barbara County 5th District Supervisor Joe Centeno on Tuesday announced the county’s appointment of Glenn Russell as the new director of the Planning and Development Department.

“We’re delighted that Glenn has decided to head our Planning and Development Department,” Centeno said. “The recruiting process was very thorough because this department is critical to our county’s future and it faces many complex challenges in the years to come. We needed someone who fully understands the issues and can hit the ground running.”

The appointment was made after a nationwide recruitment conducted by the county. The process included a series of interviews by three panels, and two of the panels included a diverse spectrum of community leaders and environmental advocates. The third panel included local government experts.

Russell will start his new duties in September. His annual salary will be $160,000.

Russell most recently comes from San Diego County, where he has been program manager of the Project Planning Division of San Diego County’s Department of Planning and Land Use since 2008.

He was the interim deputy director of the same department from 2007-08 and has held various other management and regulatory positions within the department since 1998, including chief of regulatory planning from 2005-07.

From 1995-98, Russell was the curator of archaeology at the Fowler Museum of Cultural History at UCLA. He has a doctorate in archaeology and a master’s degree in archaeology, both from UCLA, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin.

“This is a great opportunity to use my planning, regulatory and management skills in a place that many people consider to be paradise,” Russell said. “My experience with San Diego County and its planning processes gives me an advantage on the many land-use and environmental challenges that are present in Santa Barbara County.”

— William Boyer is the communications director for Santa Barbara County.