After dealing with Mount Airy’s planning-relating matters as a volunteer, Jeannie Studnicki is now doing so on a professional basis due to recently joining the Benchmark firm.
Benchmark is an entity based in Charlotte which has been contracted to provide planning services to Mount Airy since 2011, when city officials decided to privatize those functions.
That arrangement includes having personnel stationed regularly at the Municipal Building to handle matters involving zoning administration, long-range growth and others.
Studnicki, a 17-year resident of Mount Airy, is now part of that staff also including city Planning Director Andy Goodall. Her title is city planner.
She formerly served on the Mount Airy Planning Board, a key advisory group to the city commissioners which devotes initial study to annexation, zoning and related requests and then makes recommendations to the commissioners for final decisions.
Studnicki was a Planning Board member for seven years, having been appointed by the commissioners in 2015. She chaired that group for the past two years and rotated off it this year due to serving the maximum terms allowed.
The outgoing board member received special recognition for her city volunteer service from Mayor Ron Niland during a May 19 meeting of the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners.
“It was a natural progression when the city planning job presented itself,” Studnicki advised this week of her addition to the local Benchmark operation.
“This new position involves strategic thinking, goal setting, data collection and analysis, forecasting, design and public consultation, duties that I’m very familiar and comfortable with,” she added.
“It also allows me the opportunity to continue serving the city, its residents, and contributing to community growth in a meaningful way.”
Studnicki’s present responsibilities mirrored her work on the Mount Airy Planning Board. That included investigating present and emerging land-development trends and activities within the municipality, and recommending plans, policies and ordinances designed to maximize opportunities for growth while promoting public health, safety, morals and welfare.
While a Planning Board member, Studnicki assisted in the revision of far-thinking documents such as the Mount Airy Comprehensive Plan, along with zoning, sign, landscaping and other ordinances.
Focused on history
The new city planner, formerly of Toronto, has demonstrated a particular appreciation for architecture and historical preservation locally.
This included working to expand the number of Mount Airy districts in the National Register of Historic Places in recent years, motivated by benefits historically recognized places provide.
“Old buildings are witnesses to the aesthetic and cultural history of a city, helping to give people a sense of place and connection to the past,” Studnicki believes.
“Mount Airy thrives from its historic significance,” she observed. “Preservation of this irreplaceable heritage is in the public interest — we’d be doing a disservice if its vibrant legacy of inspiration and energy isn’t maintained and enriched for future generations.”
Studnicki, whose background includes 25 years of experience in marketing and as a business strategist working with companies including Hanes, Fruit of the Loom, AstraZeneca and more, has filled additional volunteer roles in this community.
She is a past board member of Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, a present member of the Downtown Master Plan Steering Committee and also volunteers at Northern Regional Hospital, among others.
“Twenty years from now, I want to reflect on my time in Mount Airy and feel that I contributed in a meaningful way,” Studnicki commented.
“That I championed for the welfare of our residents by helping to design a city that met their needs and interests while addressing crucial urban problems.”
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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