Denver Mayor Mike Johnston taps former planning director to return to job temporarily

Brad Buchanan who once served as head planner in Denver and now is the CEO of the National Western Center Authority will be the city s interim planning director while Mayor Mike Johnston searches for a permanent appointee Brad Buchanan the CEO of the National Western Center Authority is pictured at the National Western Center campus in Denver on Tuesday Sept Photo by Hyoung Chang The Denver Post Johnston s announcement came after current planning director Manish Kumar communicated he would resign from the role this week Buchanan served as executive director of the Department of Area Planning and Evolution under former Mayor Michael Hancock He was appointed in and left the post in to lead the National Western authority In a news release Johnston disclosed Buchanan already knows the department and its unit extremely well His deep expertise in Denver s permitting and improvement processes gives me full confidence in his ability to guide CPD forward as we continue overhauling our permitting processes and delivering services to our region Johnston disclosed according to the release Buchanan will continue to act as the CEO of the National Western authority which is overseeing a campus that s undergoing a major expansion while he leads the planning department Related Articles Denver planning director actions down after months in job Denver says if it can t process construction permits in roughly days the city will refund developers fees Kumar stepped down from the role after only months in the position saying he had completed what he set out to do in the department City functionaries plan to conduct a search for his permanent replacement Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot