The City of Kannapolis welcomes Richard Smith, as the new Planning Director. In this role, Richard will oversee the planning, zoning, GIS, and code enforcement services of the City.
Richard has approximately 23 years of experience in planning and community development. He previously worked as the Planning & Community Development Director for Moore County and Senior Planner for Catawba County. He was also the vice-president and majority owner of Benchmark Planning, a professional planning consulting firm that worked with local government, state, federal and private clients throughout the region.
Richard previously served as Kannapolis’ Planning Director under a contract agreement from 2004 to 2009. Most recently he was Director of Businesses Development for McGill Associates where his duties included managing comprehensive plans, zoning ordinance revisions, small area studies and more for a variety of local governments.
Richard is a native of Rowan County and graduated from Western Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Law. He holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from Appalachian State University. He and his wife, Veronica, reside in Rowan County, have three children, and are very active with their church.