When David Bischoff retires next month after 18 years heading
the city Planning Department, he will leave a giant hole behind,
according to the most surprising people.
When David Bischoff retires next month after 18 years heading the city Planning Department, he will leave a giant hole behind, according to the most surprising people.
In the normal course of things, Planning Departments and developer/builders might be at odds with each other but two local developers who spent those 18 years going head to head with Bischoff had nothing but praise for him.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with David all those years,” said Dick Oliver, a developer with Dividend Homes. “I found him to be outstanding, completely honest and fair.”
Oliver, who served on several committees with Bischoff including the Measure P Update Committee, said Bischoff would give him no breaks just because they knew each other well. But he could always call with a problem and they would work through it.
“David is superb – a great asset to the community,” Oliver said.
Rocke Garcia of The Glenrock Group agreed with Oliver.
“David is the dean of Santa Clara County planning departments,” Garcia said. “He has had the longest tenure and is the most knowledgeable.”
Bischoff, 55, who announced to the City Council and his staff on Thursday that April 30 will be his last day on the job, has seen lots of changes in Morgan Hill.
“The city has grown and matured into a more sophisticated community,” he said.
But the growth has been positive, Bishoff said. High on his list is the residential growth-control ordinance, Measure P, an update of which is on today’s ballot as Measure C.
The staff has grown, he said. Even though the city is considerably larger than it was 18 years ago, the department only has a total of four more employees.
“It’s a great group of people, working smarter and harder,” he said. “They are dedicated and have nothing but the city’s best interest at heart. They don’t always agree but they do the best job they can to enforce the city’s codes.”
Bischoff arrived in Morgan Hill 18 years ago, hired on as senior planner. After one short month the planning director resigned and Bischoff was made interim director for three months, then given the job permanently.
Bischoff said that, while it was time to leave, he was still rather pleased with the accomplishments of the past few years.
“We did two major updates of the general plan, implemented one Measure P ordinance and drafted a second (Measure C),” he said. The downtown plan was updated and the Planning Department and Commission are wrapping up zoning and design review ordinance updates.
“I’ve enjoyed the years I spent here,” he said. “I like to think I made a positive contribution to the growth of the community. The city staff, the Planning Commission, City Council and ARB are all good people.”
Bischoff said the thing he is most proud of is Morgan Hill’s new Community and Cultural Center, that opened December 2002 and is often referred to as a jewel. He was project manager from the initial design stage up through construction.
Councilman Steve Tate said he knew the day (of retirement) would come but, even so, was surprised Bischoff was retiring so soon.
“He was a joy to work with,” Tate said.
Tate spent seven years on the Planning Commission (which is supported by the Planning Dept.) before moving over to the council.
“For more than 12 years we’ve been very good friends,” he said. “He’s a great guy to work with.”
Tate said he has a personal relationship with Bischoff as a friend plus a parallel business relationship.
“One of those will continue; one won’t.”
Tate described Bischoff’s issue management style.
“He excelled at providing guidance that shaped things to end up the way they should,” Tate said. “The Measure P update wouldn’t be done nearly as well without his direction.”
“It didn’t matter if you are on the council, the Planning Commission or a member of the public,” Tate said. “He always took things to heart and offered his help.”
Bischoff, in turn, said that the way Tate ran the Measure P Update Committee, everyone worked together to reach a consensus.
“No one got everything they wanted but they worked together for the betterment of the community,” Bischoff said.
Ralph Lyle, a planning commissioner and original Measure P proponent, also had praise.
“He is absolutely superb,” Lyle said. “He is always well-prepared, answers questions and, if a question needs more research, resolves those quickly. David is a pleasure to work with and to be around.”
Bischoff said his days won’t be empty. He and his wife, Nancy, will have time to travel since Nancy, a labor and delivery nurse at Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy, will reduce her hours to accommodate the couple’s new schedule.
He will also have more time for golf and for his little sailboat – a day sailor, he said. The boat does well at Uvas but not Anderson. “Sailboats and powerboats don’t mix,” he said.
But David Bischoff the trumpet player, will trump all others. “Music is my main hobby,” he said. “I plan to join a couple more groups.”
The Bischoff’s daughter, Amy, recently graduated with a teaching credential and is living at home while she decides what to do next.
Bischoff grew up in San Carlos and graduated from U.S. Berkeley.
The future won’t be entirely fun and games since City Manager Ed Tewes asked Bischoff if he would shepherd through the Urban Limit Line project if the council continues with it.
Tewes was no less complimentary than developers, commissioners and councilmen.
“David is one of our most experienced department heads and he is going to be missed.” Bischoff, he said, is a highly competent and able professional. Besides being knowledgeable, his demeanor helps applicants, city staffers and decision makers alike, Tewes said. Bischoff is also highly articulate and is known for being able to explain the most complicated concepts – Measure P for example – in terms regular people can understand.
Tewes said he got an inkling of the respect with which the Council held Bischoff the night he was introduced as Interim City Manager.
“David was sitting in my seat; the council had asked him to fill in as city manager,” Tewes said.
The city will look for an interim planning director to fill the gap but will also look at reorganizing the department that now includes both planning and building, Tewes said. That is the prudent thing to do in a time of budget stress, he said.
The salary range for a planning director is $105,960 to $132,480 with the chance of another 2.5 percent performance award.
