Lisa Hardy

If you live/work/play/drive in or around the City of Santa Clarita, the decisions made by the City's elected officials and staff unavoidably affect you. That being said, don't you think it's kind of important to know a little bit about the folks who have the power to change our surroundings and way of life? Yeah, we thought so, too. With that in mind, here's Inside SCV's third profile in the "Who Are These People?" series.

Lisa Hardy
Current Title: Planning Manager

Lisa, how long have you been the City of Santa Clarita's Planning Manager?

I've been serving as Planning Manager with the City's Planning Division for a little over one month. Prior to that, I was a Senior Planner with the City for three years, and also served as an Associate Planner and an Assistant Planner.

How long have you lived in Santa Clarita?

I've been a Santa Clarita resident for six years. I moved here a few months after joining the City in June 1998.

What are your primary duties?

I was recently promoted to the Planning Manager position, which means that I oversee the planning operations for the City including both the current planning function (development occurring over the next five years) and long-range planning function (how the City will look and operate 20 to 30 years from now). As the Planning Manager, I work closely with the Planning Commission and the City Council to ensure the planning goals for the City are being met. We have a strong team of 11 planners in the Planning Division which makes my job easier and a lot of fun!

What's your status - married/single/kids/too busy to know either way?

No family yet - I am living the single life, traveling when I can and enjoying weekends with friends.

What kind of plans can residents look forward to in the near future?

A number of development projects are currently underway or being considered by the City at this time. The Golden Valley Ranch development will bring a new commercial center to the east side of the Valley with a Target, Lowe's and Kohl's as the anchor stores. A proposal is in the works to expand the Valencia Town Center Mall, which may include a Macy's department store. The UCLA Film Archives, a state-of-the-art film restoration facility to be located near Cal Arts, was recently approved by the City and will offer film showings. Also, a number of roadway projects are underway or under consideration which will make it easier to travel from one end of the Valley to the other.

Also, the City is very excited about the Downtown Newhall Specific Plan project, which will transform the Downtown Newhall commercial district into a vibrant live-work-play community and regional destination point. The plan places great emphasis on encouraging pedestrian movement, mixing land uses, increasing densities for a more urban feel, and creating a visually exciting street scene.

How about the more distant future?

Redevelopment of the Whittaker-Bermite property, which is a 1,000-acre former industrial site now undergoing clean-up, will transform the heart of our City. It's not often that a community has the opportunity to create a new vision for its geographic center that will include "economic engine" land uses serving the Valley, needed infrastructure connections, and opportunities for open space and recreational amenities. Planning an area of this size is an exciting endeavor that will require high community input and participation throughout the process.

You graduated from Inside SCV's favorite alma mater, Loyola Marymount University, so you've obviously lived in Los Angeles. Any good LA hangouts that are worth the trip on the 405?

Some of my favorites are The Great Greek on Ventura Boulevard., and El Cholo and The Viceroy are always good in Santa Monica. For me, nothing beats Duke's in Malibu on a warm Sunday afternoon, drinking a Mai Tai at the Barefoot Bar and people-watching.

We heard that City-wide "beautification" falls under your jurisdiction. What's this all about? The SCV hits the big 1-7, and now we're told we're not turning heads like we used to? An annexation here, an annexation there, and now we can't fit into our size-6's? We can't look like a teenager forever, you know.

You are right - we have entered into our teenage years and this is really when it counts. Requiring high quality design - both architectural and landscaping - is critical to ensure that, 30 years from now, we look as good as we do today. Our beautification efforts help us to preserve the things we like and treasure in our community, and target those areas that need a facelift, such as some of our older commercial corridors. The community can feel good in knowing that any new development proposed within the City's boundaries goes through a comprehensive review where architectural design is scrutinized by Planning staff and our architectural experts. Site planning and design play a key role in ensuring the community matures properly.

Being in charge of planning, requires, well, planning. Any suggestions for kids looking to land a cool job like yours?

Having a strong academic foundation in planning is important, but nothing prepares you for a career in planning/city government better than on-the-job experience. I recommend pursuing internships (even the ones that don't pay) which will open doors and advance you in the right direction. Also, the field of planning is very broad - be open to trying out as many aspects as possible - it will make you more marketable when applying for positions.

You make plans for a living. Does that mean you get stuck making all the weekend plans, wedding plans, plans for dinner, life plans, so on and so forth, for everyone else?

My grammar school girlfriends get a big kick out of the fact that I've made "planning" into a career. I guess I've been big on making lists even before I hit high school. Yes, planning is certainly a field that suits me and carries over into my personal life with party planning, travel planning and weekend planning - and the details and logistics are always left to me to figure out!

What's currently not in the plans for Santa Clarita, but (in your opinion) probably should be?

We are very lucky here in the Santa Clarita Valley - our Valleywide community is so diverse and offers many lifestyle choices, and recreational, employment and entertainment opportunities. But the one thing I know we will never have is a beach where I could dip a toe into the ocean after work or rollerblade down the coast.

Spoken like a true LMU alumnus...