Santa Clara Co. Confirms Permanent Planning/Development Director

Santa Clara County’s interim planning and development director has now been placed into the permanent position, bringing 20 years of experience to the job, county officials announced Thursday.

Kirk Girard, 56, became interim director in February and in his appointment to the permanent job went into effect Tuesday. His annual salary is $192,122, according to county officials. He will supervise 85 staff members and an $18 million annual operating budget for the department, county officials said.

Girard’s background includes expertise in the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act; agricultural land and open space conservation and climate action programs, according to county officials. He will continue to lead the department’s Transformation and Modernization Project aimed at lowering permit processing times by 40 percent and increasing customer satisfaction by 20 percent, county officials said.

“It is a significant personal honor to be chosen for this leadership position, as well as the best affirmation that our staff could receive that we are headed in the right direction,” Girard said in a statement issued Thursday.

Since first joining the department as planning manager in 2012, he has helped reduce the processing time for permits and update information technology, county officials said. His resume includes working at Stanford University, where he oversaw the development of customer service and permit management program, according to county officials.

County Executive Jeffrey Smith said in a statement, “Kirk’s leadership and depth of experience in the areas of general plan policy, code enforcement and civil engineering will be a tremendous asset to the County.”

Before his joining Santa Clara County, Girard was director of community development services in Humboldt County, where the Planning and Building Department expanded its budget by almost $20 million and 25 staff members were added during his tenure, according to county officials. He was also the executive officer for Humboldt County’s local agency formation commission from 1997 to 2006, county officials said.

Girard attended California State University, Humboldt, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in Environmental Resources Engineering. He is a licensed California Professional Civil Engineer. He currently lives in San Jose with his wife and has two grown children.

--Bay City News

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