New top planner comes to SBC from Santa Clara
A self-described moderate with 26 years of experience will take
over as San Benito County’s top planner on Jan. 23, 2006.
Arthur Henriques, of Santa Clara was named to the post last
week. Henriques started as a planning intern with the City of San
Jose in 1979 and in September 1981 took a position with the city of
San Jose as a full-fledged planner. From here he went to work for
the city of Santa Clara, working his way up from associate planner
to city planner. Ratified by a vote of the Board of Supervisors,
the executive search firm of Waters-Oldani Group selected the
50-year-old assistant director from a pile of qualified applicants
after a fast-track recruitment process.
New top planner comes to SBC from Santa Clara
A self-described moderate with 26 years of experience will take over as San Benito County’s top planner on Jan. 23, 2006.
Arthur Henriques, of Santa Clara was named to the post last week. Henriques started as a planning intern with the City of San Jose in 1979 and in September 1981 took a position with the city of San Jose as a full-fledged planner. From here he went to work for the city of Santa Clara, working his way up from associate planner to city planner. Ratified by a vote of the Board of Supervisors, the executive search firm of Waters-Oldani Group selected the 50-year-old assistant director from a pile of qualified applicants after a fast-track recruitment process.
Henriques’ planning background includes a master’s degree from San Jose State in urban and regional planning and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Santa Cruz in environmental studies/psychology and community studies.
Chief Administrative Officer Susan Thompson praised Henriques’ record as a highly qualified professional individual who involves stakeholders into the process and works in close collaboration with other agencies. “He understands the need for consistent and open communication in customer service,” Thompson said. “He has successfully managed a larger staff and division budget and has considerable experience in the areas of General Plan development, preservation and economic analysis. He is a pleasant, soft-spoken individual who will be dedicated to the board’s mission of restoring public trust through respect for the individual.”
The board started searching for a full-time replacement for the position on Sept. 6 when it approved a contract with Waters-Oldani.
Members of the board met with the candidate after Thompson made the offer of employment conditioned on approval of the board. “I was very impressed with his resume and his background and I believe he will bring a consistent and highly ethical leadership to the department,” said Board Chairman Reb Monaco.
The interim planning director has been Michael Bethke, who took over the position in May after the board of supervisors fired longtime Director Rob Mendiola, who was let go after a 24-year-stint being cited as a “bad fit” with the rest of the administration.
Bethke was hired on a six-month contract to serve under “transitional leadership.”
Henriques started as a planner for the city of San Jose back in September of 1981. He has also served as an Associate Planner for San Jose as well as a senior planner.
In Santa Clara he oversaw a staff of 14 including all the training, mentoring and evaluating. He managed a budget of $1.4 million.
The board approved a contract with the executive recruitment firm of Waters-Oldani Executive Recruitment, Inc., on September 6, with a request that the position be recruited as soon as possible. Members of the board met with the candidate after Thompson made the offer of employment conditioned on the approval of the board.
Henriques’ resume and background are the two things that Chairman Monaco said impressed him most. “I believe he will bring a consistent and highly ethical leadership to the department.”
The starting base salary for the position is reported to be around $109,000 plus benefits. Henriques said he is excited about the challenges and opportunities that exist within San Benito County. He said that there are a number of items he is aware of that the county has in the works including the hillside building ordinance that the board has asked the planning commission to examine.
Henriques knows that the supervisors need to update much of the General Plan.
“Another thing I know the supervisors are interested in is moving forward with a one-stop permit center, which would offer all the county’s permitting functions in one area. I understand that there are also some ranches that would like to be annexed in for some developments – the DMB Ranch for example.”
El Rancho San Benito is a 4,000-acre development proposed by DMB slated to be located off Highway 25, between Gilroy and Hollister.
He is looking forward to some of the differences he’ll face in San Benito County, such as the need for a vote with any housing project containing more than 100 units. “I think that could be very useful for a county like San Benito; for the voters to look at anything significant versus a broader view. In Santa Clara the approach is similar. When we get development projects I encourage the developers to talk with their neighbors – that way, when the project goes to public hearings, we have some idea about people’s feelings. In [San Benito County], all that goes before the voters, so it seems to be a good Democratic way.”
Henriques acknowledges that San Benito County will be a different environment from the one he’s been dealing with in Santa Clara, but many of the issues and approaches will be the same. He is, however, expecting his share of challenges. “I’ll definitely have to take my vitamins,” Henriques joked.
As for the inclusionary housing ordinance, Henriques said that if the county has one, that’s a policy matter and he’ll do his best to help with that. “It’s not unusual in local government. I think it’s important to some communities and they can make it work. The same thing with the 1 percent growth cap. This is a very forward thinking community. They want to grow, but they want to do so carefully. By doing this, it gives them the opportunity to look at what’s coming and estimate the review mechanisms for maintaining the proper element. This also creates challenges, because if you have more than you can accommodate, developers are not happy.”
Still, Henriques said, other communities like Morgan Hill have figured out how to skate around this – it’s all about finding out how to work together. “Growth seems to be a constant. Not only here in San Benito County, but in Santa Cruz and Monterey as well, so a process like this is helpful.”
