Mayor Hancock has announced the appointment of Brad Buchanan as executive director for Denver Community Planning and Development to replace Rocky Piro. In this capacity, Buchanan will be responsible for implementing the City's planning visions and ensuring safe, responsible, sustainable building throughout Denver. The Department of Community Planning and Development manages the planning and building process in Denver, developing and implementing citywide and neighborhood plans, establishing and enforcing construction and design standards, coordinating revitalization efforts, managing historic preservation, and performing code enforcement and education.

Buchanan comes from RNL, a design, planning, and architecture firm in Denver, where he was a principal and board member. He has served as Chair of the Denver Planning Board and the Downtown Denver Partnership. Brad was a member of the Downtown Denver Area Plan Steering Committee and the Denver Zoning Task Force that in 2010 successfully updated the Denver Zoning Code for the first time since 1956, establishing a form and context-based code, one of the first of its kind for a large city.

Brad is the founder of Freedom by Design, a nonprofit organization providing design and construction services for the disabled community. Since 1999, Freedom by Design has grown nationwide, completing hundreds of projects each year.

Brad has presented to more than 10,000 architects, engineers and contractors across the United States and abroad on the role of the architect as a leader in the design and construction process.   He co-authored the "Design Build Teaming Checklist" and "The Architect's Guide to Design Build." He was elevated to Fellowship by the American Institute of Architects in 2005.

Brad graduated with a bachelor's degree in Environmental Design from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. His first day on the job as Planning Director will be on March 3^rd.