Sara Buizer appointed to lead Hayward Development Services Department
August 18, 2023
HAYWARD, Calif., Aug. 18, 2023—Sara Buizer has been appointed director of the City of Hayward Development Services Department where she will lead land-use planning, building permitting, code enforcement and the City’s Housing Division.
Buizer has led the department as Acting-Director since December 2022 and oversaw implementation of the City’s new digital e-permitting portal prior to her promotion to Development Services Director by City Manager Kelly McAdoo earlier this year.
The effective date of Director Buizer’s appointment coincided with the July 1 shift of the City’s Housing Division from the City Manager’s Office to the Development Services Department to more closely align and streamline affordable housing planning, permitting and construction activity and strategy. Buizer’s appointment was effective July 3.
“Sara Buizer knows traditional Development Service operations inside-out and has successfully led and earned the trust and respect of her colleagues,” City Manager McAdoo said. “I’m confident she is the right person to continue moving the department forward from a customer service standpoint and advancing our commitment to housing creation, access and stability in the City of Hayward.”
A graduate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, with a bachelor of science degree in city and regional planning, Buizer held planning positions in county and city government in the Bay Area before joining the City of Hayward as a senior planner in 2007.
She was promoted to Planning Manager to lead the Development Services Planning Division in July 2014, and to Development Services Deputy Director in August 2021, before stepping up to Acting-Director in December 2022.
Buizer also serves on City Manager McAdoo’s Executive Team and represents the City of Hayward on the Board of Directors of the Downtown Hayward Business Improvement Association.
She has completed the Alameda County Local Government Leadership Academy and California Planning Roundtable Planning Leadership Academy, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and the American Planning Association.
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