Wendy Nowak

About Wendy Nowak

Wendy is an experienced and versatile planner who has collaborated with public and private sector clients for over 25 years. Her winning interpersonal skills and passion for working with the public make her a natural in community participation and visioning, and her background in local government provides her with the know-how to successfully navigate a project through all aspects of a process from community outreach to interdepartmental coordination. Wendy’s innate relationship and consensus building skills help her to break down barriers and achieve desired outcomes for her clients.She has managed a diverse variety and scale of projects including public outreach and visioning, general plan updates, specific plans, corridor infill development, grant writing and entitlement coordination. She has coordinated outreach and engagement efforts for the City of Los Angeles for the future reuse of the Pony Ride Site in Griffith Park and led the consultant team for the Southeast Area Specific Plan (SEASP) a 1,500-acre area in Long Beach that wrestled with traffic, coastal, wetland, and infill-related issues. After two decades of debate and a 10 year planning process, it received unanimous approval from the California Coastal Commission. In Westminster, Wendy led the Westminster General Plan Update, where a significant improvement in the quality, type and scale of new projects were being submitted to the City in less than a year after the adoption of the plan. She also managed the Moran Street Specific Plan (a mixed use project in Little Saigon) where she worked with staff to develop an outreach program that earned the trust of a divided community and unanimous adoption of the plan and is currently working with the City on the redevelopment of the Westminster Mall. Wendy is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, one of twenty National Ambassadors for the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2 USA), has served as adjunct faculty at USC and formerly served on the Board of the California Planning Foundation.

Experience

1. Principal

   Placeworks

   Aug 2001 — Present · Orange County, CA, US

   SPECIALTIES: Facilitation, Community Engagement & Outreach, Specific Plans, General Plans, Entitlement, Grant Writing, Government and Public/Private Sector Relationships, Outreach TrainingENGAGEMENT & FACILITATION- City of Long Beach: Housing Promise (Mayor\'s Initiative in partnership with CSULB, LBUSD and LBCCD to create new Student and Faculty Housing)- City of Inglewood: General Plan Update Visioning- City of Los Angeles, Dept. Rec & Parks: Reimagining the Griffith Park Pony Ride Site- City of Long Beach: LGBTQ+ Cultural District Strategic Improvement Plan- City of Laguna Beach: Climate Action Plan - California State Parks: OHV Access Project- City of Long Beach: Substantial Remodel Tenant Displacement Solutions PLANNING PROJECTS- LACo. Dept. Beaches & Harbors - MdR for All Strategic Plan & Outreach (Marina Del Rey)- City of Long Beach - Queen Mary and Downtown Shoreline Master Plan - City of Westminster - Westminster Mall Specific Plan- City of Redondo Beach - General Plan Update (Land Use and Conservation, Recreation and Parks, and Open Space Elements)- City of Palm Springs - General Plan Update (Focused)- City of Moorpark - General Plan Update Public Engagement Program- City of San Bernardino - General Plan Update Public Engagement Program- City of Long Beach - Southeast Area Specific Plan (SEASP); secured $950k Sustainable Communities Planning Grant and unanimous Coastal Commission approval (10-year project)- City of Hawthorne - Greenline Specific Plan- City of Westminster - General Plan Update & Implementation Plan- City of Menifee - Inaugural General Plan- County of Orange - Highest and Best Use Analysis (100-Acre County-owned Parcel at El Toro)- Town of Yucca Valley - General Plan Update- City of Westminster - Moran Street Specific Plan (Little Saigon)- Century Villages at Cabrillo (Long Beach)- Master Planning & Entitlement Guidance

Education

• University of Southern California

  BS Planning & Development; Master of Planning