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February 12, 2009 11:07 AM
Comments: 36
Born in Buffalo and raised in Albany, Michael Kimelberg is a graduate of SUNY Geneseo and earned a Master's in Urban Planning from the University of Washington. His career in Seattle has spanned the private sector, as a consulting urban designer and planner to businesses, and public sector, as a planner for the City of Seattle. He has helped businesses from both sides of that spectrum and worked extensively with neighborhoods and communities to ensure new development met residents' needs and desires.
Kimelberg's appointment comes as the result of a collaborative search and review effort involving City of Buffalo agencies along with input from Robert Shibley, founder of the University at Buffalo's Urban Design Project and lead consultant on the City of Buffalo's award-winning Queen City Hub master plan and representatives of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, the region's leading business advocacy organization.
He is a LEED Accredited Professional, having worked on several green projects in the Pacific Northwest and has incorporated smart growth principles and sustainable building and planning practices in ways that both create a sense of place and make communities greener.
Kimlberg said, "The bulk of my career to date has been working in planning initiatives and design standards and guidelines." He believes he has something to offer developers in "rewriting zoning codes, the development and review process, looking at things that have been in place for as long as 50 or 60 years."
Still, Kimelberg says rezoning is a big project to start on. "I'll start with the small incremental things first, on a site-by site basis, keeping in mind the long term [impact] to the urban fabric of the area," he said.
According to Mayor Byron Brown, "Up until now, conflicting city plans and regulations have left both businesses and the community unsure of the development process and its outcomes. What you can expect with the appointment of Mike Kimelberg is more clarity, transparency and predictability in the city's planning process."
Kimelberg explained, "We do have a comprehensive plan for growth, and we should provide enough direction in the short term toward that end. The skill I'll bring is my ability to sit down with developers and designers and explore the things not looked at because of codes. I always ask, 'Are you looking at the spirit of the project?' A lot of communities have imperfect regulations, forcing the developer to come in and grapple with zoning code restrictions."
Kimelberg
expects it will take him a year and a half to two years to get a
state-of-the-art zoning code up to snuff with 21st-century
standards, saying, "There's a confusing set of standards. We have to rework proposals for the
intent of the zoning code of a district, but with a solution that reinterprets
the standard."
Brian Reilly, Commissioner of Economic Development, said, "In the future, the development community and communities of interest in our neighborhoods can expect to see our many plans re-tooled to reinforce our vision for the city, outlined in the Queen City Hub plan. The development process in Buffalo has long suffered from unclear, fragmented and unpredictable conditions for development. Higher quality design will play a key role in regulatory reform. In his role within the Department of Economic Development, Mike will drive our regulations toward simplicity, and will institute a level of design excellence throughout the city."
Kimelberg will officially begin as city planner on February 27th, and hopes to be joined soon by his wife and 16-month old daughter. "I'm not optimistic on the quick sale of our house in Seattle," Kimelberg said, and added that he and his wife have been looking to relocate to Buffalo for a while as a way to be near his relatives and raise their family.
Did he know Reilly referred to him as a "rock star in the
planning world" long before his name and appointment was released to the
public? "Well, no,"
Kimelberg laughed. "Do we
have those?" Were hoping so.
(Pictured above: Brian Reilly, Byron Brown, Mike Kimelberg, Robert Shibley)
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February 12, 2009 11:45 AM
i will try to remain positive, but first my criticism. nice job, byron brown of choosing an individual for this purpose during an election year. you didn't see this as being a problem in your first three years?
anyway, i wish this individual success in coordinating a new and exciting direction for our building standards. i like rock stars.
February 12, 2009 12:01 PM
Welcome (back) Mike. Your arrival is well-timed. Hope you're aware of task 1: Pitts' proposed Shanghai hotel. I assume you would not favor that ill-conceived single use development...and will tell Brown he's wrong, back off, and re-bid the project with modern specs.
Next up is something, anything to bring back a sense of life for:
-- Bailey (at least UB to Delevan);
-- Niagara St. (basically the whole stretch but certainly the gateway from Porter to City Hall)
-- Main St. between Delevan and Utica (blow [most of] it up or design & fix it up, please)
Wishing you nothing but success and good luck.
February 12, 2009 6:38 PM
Tahooter, while those would be nice to see happen, they don't sound likely at all no matter what this new planner does.
"something, anything to bring back a sense of life for:
-- Bailey (at least UB to Delevan);
-- Niagara St. (basically the whole stretch but certainly the gateway from Porter to City Hall)
-- Main St. between Delevan and Utica (blow [most of] it up or design & fix it up, please)"
Big changes in those three areas would need a surge in private sector growth and investment way beyond what's reasonable to expect from even great planning. Bailey still has some sense of life left but suffers more and more from this area being so soft on crime (fault of justice system). Niagara south of Porter has some sense of life. Main Delavan to Utica and Niagara north of Porter are mostly commercial-industrial buildings without market demand. I don't see how planning can create demand any time soon when it's declined for so long.
February 12, 2009 12:18 PM
Welcome Mike. Looks like you'll bring some nice experience to the city's Planning Department.
February 12, 2009 12:40 PM
Irrelevant, there have been urban planners in city hall for Brown's entire term to date. Until he starts to listen to them it makes no difference who is there.
If Brown actually starts to listen to his planners THEN I think this will be a great improvement for Brown. I am just not going to hold my breathe.
February 12, 2009 4:36 PM
Right on! You beat me to it...
February 12, 2009 5:40 PM
Im with you there. I worked in the planning div as a part timer in the Masiello days. All of the planners that were there were well educated and very dedicated to Buffalo. There were a few non qualified ex-councilmembers in other various office positions who may have owed their employment to patronage but the planners themselves were on point. However this is "irrelevant" when you have a gutless, bend over career politician in the mayors office. This department is accountable to the mayor and if Byron likes the suburban style hotel on the waterfront and the soon to be open "Biff Tannons Casino Buffalo" (thanks Elias, your royalty check is in the mail) than so will the planning chief. You can have an ace in the planning department but itl do no good if you have a joker for a mayor.
February 12, 2009 7:53 PM
awesome!!! i'll cash it in at biff's!!!
February 12, 2009 12:49 PM
Well, unlike Brian Reilly, let's hope this guy will actually talk - and not hide - when their feet is held to the fire.
February 12, 2009 1:06 PM
I predict the BRO crowd will slay this guy too, as soon as he makes a practical as opposed to low-chance-of-success, elitist point of view, power of wishful thinking choice on some matter like the design of street lamps or the rendering of a new, yet to be built, building.
Buffalo, the King of renderings of new buildings. We roast our own hardworking people over CAD renderings in Buffalo, that's the ticket.
Good luck Mr. Kimelburg, the salivating EV latte mob awaits you.
February 12, 2009 2:11 PM
So anyone wanting something more from a project is elistist? Why is not wanting something better for the city practical? Are you on Jim Pitts' "doable" speech writing committee? If you accept mediocrity you get it, and Buffalo gets mediocrity all the time, but I guess beggers can't be choosers.
February 12, 2009 1:11 PM
Mike, welcome aboard! Since you're an ex-pat -- and rock star -- we'll look forward to your involvement with Buffalo Homecoming this summer.
This article mentions the Queen City Hub plan -- it's always good to see that remaining a touchstone for the community. When the opportunity presents, Mike, you may find it worthwhile to talk with another one of the authors of the QCH plan -- and also explore some inter-city collaboration -- by visiting My Fair City and chatting with Chuck Thomas, formerly of Buffalo's planning office, and now our city's chief planner.
February 12, 2009 2:20 PM
Congrats Mike.
We need better zoning and codes and we need industry.
If you do two things your first year I recommend the following:
Create a CleanTech Manufacturing Zone (courtesy of Los Angeles CRA)
http://www.crala.org/internet-site/Projects/Central_Industrial/index.cfm
Adopt Buffalo Smart Code.
http://buffalosmartcode.com/
February 12, 2009 6:50 PM
I was just about to say something similar. Where I work, I'm finishing up a new unified development code (plain English!), and it's going to be adopted next week in conjunction with a fully calibrated SmartCode that will apply to older areas and high-profile undeveloped land.
Not including amendments tacked on through the years, Buffalo's zoning code is nearly 60 years old; perhaps the oldest in the country.
February 12, 2009 2:25 PM
Magnificent addition to City Hall. Mayor Brown continues to bring in top notch national talent to city government.
February 12, 2009 2:41 PM
Nate, is your lakey mayor ever going to listen to any of his "top notch national talent?"
February 12, 2009 6:19 PM
"continues to"? Time will tell if this guy is top notch, but who were any prior top notch national talent recruited by Mayor Brown?
February 12, 2009 2:34 PM
Wanting more is fine, realizing your situation is another. The viewpoints from some here is akin to beggar asking you for a hundred instead of a dollar.
February 12, 2009 3:45 PM
Casey probably installed 7 cameras in his office so he can keep a close eye on him and muscle him around like he does that wimp Reilly. Tobe punked Casey off and now he's gone, but at least he had integrity unlike these empty suits. This guy's a nerd who will pander to people on this site but will be voiceless in the administration. Your job is to do nothing, now get going.
February 12, 2009 4:18 PM
Congratulations and LOTS OF PRAYERS in tackling the nightmare that is the ZONING NIGHTMARE FROM HELL. You've got the moral support of lots of what-feels-like-invisible Buffalo devotees. Just hope that the political hacks headed up by the infamous Steve Casey stay out of your way and let you do your job.
February 12, 2009 5:17 PM
It is sad that we have these dog and pony photo ops and the Mayor still remains unwilling to commit resources and political pressure to real issues in relation to development.
Hopefully this youngster can navigate eh political minefield and offer some real inspiration and direction to the Administration. My gut tells me it is merely a "photo-op" and Brian Reilly hasn't really done much to advance economic development and planning directives in the City.
Hey Mayor let them craft another waterfront RFP!
February 12, 2009 6:54 PM
The Buffalo PD was never advertised in the normal venues (American Planning Association JobMart, Planetizen, Cyburbia, etc). Wonder why not ...
Still, I wish Mike the best of luck, and hope that his work brings Buffalo closer to a planning department that reflects both best practice in the profession and a contemporary, predictable and depoliticized development review process.
February 12, 2009 6:55 PM
What we don't need from this guy: nice new curbs with pretty planters and street furniture in front of vacant lots. The issues are Byron Brown's demos, parking lots, and rebuilding Main Street into a true street again. Also he needs to examine D'Youville College's sprawl.There's a lot of proposals and changes swirling around this city. We'll see what Mr Kimelberg is made of.
February 12, 2009 6:58 PM
I wish I could create a poll on this site. I would like to know how many people who post to this site actually take an active role in improving their lot, their block, their neighborhood, their city, and their county. Stop complaning and run for mayor, run for council person, organize a block clean-up weekend - get in there and make a difference. Sorry, a part-time planner for Masiello has no credibility to attack an administration that has brought in outside planning talent to help US turn this place around.
February 12, 2009 8:33 PM
BacktoBuffalo- Good point, I wonder how many of the critics on BRO have a real stake in the neighborhoods they often criticize. Most of the negative comments seem to be from those with no experience in the real world and show a lack of understanding of the complexity of the problems we face.
February 13, 2009 9:24 AM
Many, myself included, are often negative in our discussion of the political realm BECAUSE we know the realities of how it works and have seen first hand the way the machine is run.
The issue is that people need to temper their expectations of what the govt can and can't do, or even moreso, is willing to do. Reilly has done squat but toe the Brown Company line. This guy will be handcuffed as well. Govt here is the problem and is as far from the solution as can be. It has proven it time and again and will continue to do so until it gives anyone one shred of optimism that things are changing.
So long as Byron Brown is puppetmaster and controls what the planning department does (see: micromanage) for his own political wants, this city will have no choice but to rely on the hardworking people in block clubs and community groups and swallow thier pride when the mayor shows up for their ribbon cuttings.
Brown is a joke and the sooner the city dispatches with him and his people the better.
February 13, 2009 1:59 PM
I understand the frustration of dealing with politicians but I have had many positive interactions with city hall over the years. Our block club worked successfully with the Mayors Matching Grant Program on a couple of big projects that ended well. I am presently working with a city planner that devotes much of his own time to our effort to establish a historic district. Contrary to popular opinion there are many dedicated individuals working in city hall that do care and go "the extra mile" to help. Buffalo's problems are more about lack of resources than lack of leadership. Being mayor is akin to being captain of the Titanic.
February 14, 2009 2:55 AM
I think the Mayor's attentions are divided. His natural constituency are people who are concerned with many very immediate issues such as crime and access to, and improvements to city services. That other constituency is more devoted to the material aspects of improving Buffalo: historic preservation, planning issues, and these kerfuffles over building designs and casinos. It's hard to reconcile the two and stuff falls through the cracks. At the end of the day, neither camp is fully satisfied. Bringing these two constituencies together is what would make a great Mayor. Brown is struggling at best to do that.
February 14, 2009 5:36 PM
sony>"His natural constituency are people who are concerned with many very immediate issues such as crime and access to, and improvements to city services"
I voted against Mayor Brown and have been mostly critical of his first term except for a few things, so I don't think I'm a part of his consituency of supporters.
But "issues such as crime and access to, and improvements to city services" are exactly what I want this or any mayor and Common Council to mostly focus on. I just don't think either has been doing a good job of it. I don't think those issues are necessarily "very immediate", since there's a lot of potential longer term improvements and cost savings that could be made, and I don't see how that other set of issues (preservation, casino kerfuffles, planning, etc.) are more "material" as sony describes them.
If Kearns or whoever runs against Brown (if anyone does) proposes to de-emphasize basics in favor of preservation, planning, wind mills, bike racks, and other Stuff Elmwood Likes, that would probably shift my support to Brown even though there's so much I dislike about his administration. Not that it matters much. Unless there's a major scandal directly tied to him, Brown will coast to an easy victory.
February 12, 2009 11:31 PM
What are the odds that this guy will end up spending half his time running for Democratic committee person as part of Brown's attempt to control the party? Or carrying petitions for the next chump that Brown runs against Mike LoCurto or David Rivera? Or serving on the board of Brown's personal "charity" that uses city events to raise funds?
February 13, 2009 9:31 AM
This is absolutely a positive development if Mayor Brown gives him a voice and some control. It might be a political move, but I can't see how hiring a highly qualified, experienced urban planner can be seen as a bad thing.
February 20, 2009 1:28 AM
its nice the Byron finally hired someone that is white! Way to go with the reverse discrimination, can you say OOOOOOOOOOOBAMMAAA!
February 21, 2009 10:01 AM
BuffaloObesity, I see you're still attached to your racist ways. The last we heard from your under your old moniker of Gaustad, you were cowering in fear with your absurd notion of Obama being a secret Muslim.
March 12, 2009 8:33 AM
And then did you hear? Michael Kimelberg never showed up for work.
March 12, 2009 11:50 AM
What difference does that make?
March 19, 2009 12:31 PM
The announced new head Buffalo planner will not be taking the job: http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/612710.html