Salt Lake City's planning director position filled

Salt Lake City's vacant planning director position has been filled.

Mayor Rocky Anderson announced Wednesday that Sandy Planning Director George Shaw will fill the spot left by Alex Ikefuna, who resigned Oct. 30 after 15 months with the city. He left to spend more time with an infant daughter, who has undergone heart surgery.

Shaw has been Sandy's planning director since 1984, and he is an assistant adjunct professor at the University of Utah, where he teaches a planning methods course.

He takes the reins at a time when the city is about to see a number of projects get under way. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints earlier this month unveiled its plans for a major overhaul of two downtown malls to make way for a new mixed-use development.

Master-planning work is about to begin for the city's northwest quadrant, the large undeveloped area west of the Salt Lake International Airport. A new office tower is being built at 222 S. Main, and the Utah Transit Authority is preparing to expand its light-rail system to a new intermodal hub at 200 South and 600 West.

The planning department is also facing a staffing shortfall, as a number of planners have recently left for other jobs within the city or for personal reasons.

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