Emma Bolin.

Photo courtesy of the city of Port Townsend

Emma Bolin will take the reins as the planning and community development director for the city of Port Townsend.

Bolin, who replaces former director Lance Bailey, is set to start June 27.

City officials said Bolin will steward the identity and future of Port Townsend, especially through housing and development, and will be responsible for leading quality, efficient, and customer-facing planning, permitting, building inspection, code compliance, and development activities for Port Townsend.

“I am delighted to find such a collaborative, technically-sound leader to help take us to the next level in our commitment to addressing our housing crisis and helping to ensure we maintain and enhance our community’s quality of life,” said City Manager John Mauro.

“The community panel, department staff, director team, and I were all universally impressed by Emma and eager to work with her. She has an energy, enthusiasm, and integrity that is palpable,” Mauro added. “I would like to thank our fantastic team, including Dave Nakagawara and Judy Surber who have been co-directing productive departmental functions since the departure of director Lance Bailey in December 2021.”

Bolin will play an important role in advancing the city’s priority around housing. A number of emerging workforce and affordable housing initiatives will benefit from her track record of innovation, performance, collaboration, and delivery in the region, officials noted.

Her annual salary will be $130,897.

Bolin most recently worked as the interim director of community and economic development for the city of Port Angeles.

Prior to that, she was the community development manager for Port Angeles, associate planner and planning supervisor for Jefferson County, communications officer for Peninsula Communications, and a park ranger for the National Park Service.

The new title of planning and community development director is a modification from the previous role held by Bailey, the former development services director, and reflects a broadened scope with enhanced focus on longer-range planning.

“I appreciated Ms. Bolin’s enthusiasm and her technical rigor. Her answers and our panel dialogue made for an enjoyable interview,” said Lois Stanford, chair of Planning Commission.

“I was impressed with Ms. Bolin’s resume showing solid experience dealing with issues like housing and homelessness, as well as managing significant change,” added Richard Berg, Historic Preservation Commission chair. “She’s worked here in Jefferson County and knows our community from multiple perspectives, which will undoubtedly come in handy in her role.”