Dan Reese appointed acting Luzerne County planning/zoning director

Luzerne County GIS/Mapping Director Dan Reese will serve as acting planning/zoning executive director, county Manager Romilda Crocamo announced Friday.

The planning/zoning position is open because Matthew Jones unexpectedly resigned last week, declining to offer further details.

According to Crocamo:

Reese has a bachelor’s degree in geography that includes a concentration in urban and regional development from the Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree in geographic and cartographic sciences from George Mason University.

Prior to his county employment, Reese worked as a transportation planner for eight years in the Virginia Metropolitian Planning Organization.

He has worked for Luzerne County’s GIS/Mapping department since October 2016, starting as a senior GIS analyst and advancing to department director in November 2017.

In 2022, Reese had served as the county’s interim administrative services division head.

Reese will continue overseeing GIS/Mapping while temporarily overseeing planning/zoning, Crocamo said.

The planning/zoning director must act as zoning officer for municipalities that have signed up for county coverage, ensuring codes and ordinances are enforced. This manager also oversees field inspections and development reviews to verify proposed projects comply with approved plans and serves as a liaison with the county Planning Commission and Zoning Hearing Board.

The county administration has publicly advertised the planning/zoning director position at $65,000, with applications due May 27.

Jones had received $68,250 annually.

Information on the position is posted under the human resources department “career opportunities” section at luzernecounty.org.

Due to vacancies, two other open positions in the planning/zoning department also are posted at this site — a planning/zoning analyst position listed at $45,500 and a transportation planner position advertised at a range of $48,000 to $55,000.

In addition to the director, the department is budgeted for six positions, according to the position list linked to the county budget: a clerk/typist, planner II, two planning/zoning analysts and two transportation planners.