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Randy Tsuda knows the city well: As zoning administrator from 1994-98, he was project manager for the office park now known as the Googleplex on Amphitheatre Parkway. He also won an award for planning Charleston Park next door.
Tsuda had since moved on to other jobs, but next month the Mountain View resident is returning to City Hall, where he was hired as director of community development in what the city described as a highly competitive selection process.
“Mountain View is a great community,” Tsuda said. “I love the diversity of Mountain View and the diversity of projects. It’s a wonderful place to live and wonderful place to work.”
Tsuda will be leaving his current job with the city of Los Gatos, where he has been assistant community development director for four years. Before that he was responsible for one million square feet of real estate as a director for E-trade Financial. He has also worked as a planner for the cities of Campbell, Danville and Cupertino.
“Based on Randy’s extensive experience, and his performance in the competitive selection process, it is clear that he has the leadership ability and technical skills necessary to lead the department,” said city manager Kevin Duggan in a press release. “I am confident that Randy will bring the Community Development Department to new levels of achievement.”
Tsuda will play an important role in updating the city’s general plan — a job for which he won an award in 1992 from the American Planning Association for helping Campbell with its general plan.
“The general plan is the blueprint for the future,” said assistant city manager Nadine Levin. “His department will oversee development of the general plan the same way the council and the Environmental Planning Commission will.”
Tsuda replaces former community development director Elaine Costello, who retired in May. Economic development director Ellis Berns had been filling the position temporarily.
Tsuda settled in Mountain View five years ago and currently lives near Springer School.
“It’s nothing we ever expected, obviously, for Google to be what it is today,” he said about his work on the former SGI buildings, now known as the Googleplex. “It was a project on city-owned land, one you take particular pride in.”
The Community Development Department has 32 employees and a $9.8 million budget. Besides administering zoning, building permits and city planning, the department supports numerous city committees and commissions.
