Nirav Gandhi

I have a strong background in urban and regional planning as well as working with policy reformation, including writing a Unified Development Ordinance for Liberty County, assisting in writing Savannah’s Coastal Resiliency Plan, and contributing extensively to Atlanta’s long-range Comprehensive Plan and Zoning 2.0 rewrite. I have spent much of my time as a Senior Planner with the City of Atlanta training new Urban Planners, assisting in their caseloads, and creating workshops to aid them. My passions have always lain in how sustainability and urban planning can work in tandem, and I’m in a great position to now be a leader in this cause.

City of Atlanta Office of Zoning and Development · Atlanta, GA · Planner III · 2023 - Present

•          Provided technical review and wrote reports for applications including Special Administrative Permits, Subdivisions, and Replats as Senior Planner on the Land Development team.

•          Managed permit processes with a focus on efficiency and accuracy, including interpreting ordinances for private developers in the City of Atlanta.

•          Contributed to zoning ordinance overhaul for City of Atlanta (Zoning 2.0) and the Comprehensive Plan update (Plan A). 

•          Lead training and workshops for new planners. 

•          Staffed meetings regularly for Neighborhood Planning Units, various Design Review Committees, Comprehensive Long-Term Planning, Historic Review Board, and Zoning Review Board on behalf of the City of Atlanta.

•          Facilitated governmental meetings including Subdivision Review Committee, Rezoning Concept Review Committee, Public Hearings, and more. 

•          Coordinated internal reviews on plans between Department of Arborists, Traffic Engineering, Watershed Management, Historic Preservation, and State Departments.

Chatham County-Savannah Planning Commission · Savannah, GA · Planner II, Project Manager · 2021-2023

•          Managed zoning appeals, variances, text amendments, and historic preservation standards for Chatham County and Savannah, presenting in public hearings for multiple official boards and commissions. 

•          Served as Project Manager for Coastal Empire Resiliency Network Grant and authored Savannah historic resiliency plan for the city’s cultural and historic resources for City and County governing bodies, multiple new ordinances, and the update to the Future Land Use Map.

Liberty Consolidated Planning Commission · Hinesville, GA · Planner II · 2019-2021

• Managed zoning appeals, variances, comprehensive planning, and special uses for all Liberty County jurisdictions in public hearings.
• Coordinated with numerous elected officials, state and local institutions, and private corporations on site plans, local ordinance interpretation, and compliance with state and federal procedures.
• Managed the creation of and wrote a Unified Zoning Ordinance for eight Liberty County jurisdictions.

Southeastern Wind Coalition · Charleston, SC · Research Analyst · 2017-2018

• Created a concise portfolio for contractors concerning the potential of wind power imports and installations in Kentucky. Interpreted the impact of socioeconomic, political, and environmental factors pertaining to planning, the power grid, and wind installations across the state. 

Fluor · Paducah, KY · Project Controls Engineer · 2015-2016

• Scheduled, managed, analyzed, and forecasted budgets for several nuclear deactivation projects, preparing extensive monthly reports for the client (Department of Energy). Coordinated project accruals, procurements, progress, and risk assessments as well as writing and delivering baseline scope changes. 

College of Charleston · Charleston, SC · 2016-2018 

MS Environmental Studies

Certificate: Urban and Regional Planning

Thesis on Wind Power Potential and Viability 

University of South Carolina · Columbia, SC · 2011-2015

BS Environmental Science

Minor: Political Science

Study Abroad: University of Bonn · Renewable Energy Policy Course · Bonn, Germany · 2013