Planning director to retire from city staff

Photo by Michael Woodward

Anderson City Planning Director John Stokes plans for world travel upon retirement.

Retiring but not leaving the city, Anderson Planning Director John Stokes, 55, will vacate his post on July 16 to take vacation before retiring officially on Sept. 5.

As the city planner for six years, Stokes said he used urban planning techniques "tempered to reflect the small town character" of Anderson.

Once bustling with several grocery stores and the like, the city suffered a major loss of identity with the evacuation of paper and logging mills. What used to be a factory town had earned the image of a "less than Redding town" with less traffic and cheaper housing, he said.

But the residents were not fooled.

"People who live here know there's value here," Stokes said, adding that his job as town planner is to create more self worth to Anderson.

When asked to cite his best work in Anderson, Stokes first named the 2007 General Plan update and the mixed-use district for the downtown area it contains, saying that before it was done, the plan for the city was rural-centric and made little to no designation for population centers.

Also, the inclusion of the pricier homes in the Vineyards housing development will provide a high-end housing option in Anderson, he said. Formerly not offered in Anderson, the sale of these houses can provide shoppers for commercial boutiques in the downtown area.

Stokes said that creating the Vineyards Specific Plan was "like planning nirvana," because rather than working with a structures and infrastructure already in place, Stokes said he had the opportunity to integrate it with the city, a job he said illustrates the purpose of the city planner.

The school, fire house and trails will all serve to complement the city and build capacity rather than be a segregated community.

Stokes noted that his vision as city planner could never work if his recommendations weren't backed by the city council.

Stokes also noted improved building code enforcement which has dealt with many derelict buildings, noting that there are still more in town to take care of.

He said he also made improvements to the way builders work in the city. Stokes said he instituted manditory meetings between contractor, owner and building inspector 30 days prior to occupancy to ensure all parties understand what remaining requirements are expected by the city.

Born in Redding, Stokes first became interested in planning while trapping field mice and spotting wildlife for surveys for his father's environmental consultantcy firm.

After graduating from his studies about natural resources in college, Stokes took a wandering trip by himself throughout Southeast Asia and the Middle East in the 1970s. He visited New Zealand, Nepal, Thailand, India and Israel. Stokes went on to work for various planning agencies including Visalia, Eldorado County and Shasta County before landing his job as director in Anderson in 2004.

With his retirement, he and his wife Deborah will first travel to Turkey in September. He also hopes make another trip to Africa, namely Kenya and South Africa. He also made plans to work as a town planning consultant.

A dinner to celebrate his retirement is scheduled for July 15, 6 p.m. at the Anderson River Park amphitheater. Cost of dinner is $20. For more information, contact Marty Mofield at 378-6638.

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