Fairfield Planning Director Announces Retirement; New Director Named

FAIRFIELD, CT ? Jim Wendt, Fairfield Planning Director, is stepping down from the position in April, he recently announced, and the town is turning to the department's former assistant director to replace him.

Emmeline Harrigan, who has served as Fairfield's assistant planning director for the past eight years, will take over for Wendt on April 1. Her appointment was approved by the Town Plan and Zoning Commission earlier this week.

"Emmeline Harrigan is extremely qualified to take over as director of Town Plan and Zoning," First Selectman Bill Gerber, who also approved of the appointment, said in a statement to Patch. "She has worked closely with Jim Wendt for years, and currently serves as the president of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association. Ms. Harrigan is well respected and very competent."

Wendt has been with the town for more than three decades, and said that he is pleased that Harrigan has been named as his successor. He also said that he has fond memories of his tenure in Fairfield.

"My takeaways are the friends and the relationships I have made over those years and all the incredible people I have had the privilege to work with," Wendt told Patch. "I have had the best team a manager could ask for. It?s been an honor to be of service to the TPZ Commission and the Town of Fairfield."

Harrigan has more than 25 years of planning experience, with a master's degree in Urban Planning from UCLA, according to officials. She is a certified Planner and Floodplain Manager, and while in Fairfield, she has worked on the Town?s Transit-Oriented Development Plan, the Post Road Circle Safety Plan, and the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan as well as coordinating the revisions to the Plan of Conservation and Development.

As a Floodplain Administrator for two Connecticut coastal communities, Harrigan has ensured continued compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program, increased resiliency through participation in the Community Rating System and has applied for, and processed, grant applications with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Additionally, Harrigan is the current president of the Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association, as well as a past president of the CT Association of Flood Managers.