The Council for Quality Growth is excited to announce that the City of Roswell selected Jason Gaines as Roswell’s next Community Development Director. Gaines currently serves as the Planning and Economic Development Division Manager for Cobb County Government.
Gaines comes to the City with lengthy experience in community and economic development. Since 2015, he has been employed with Cobb County, serving first as their Planning Division Manager until 2020, when he became the Planning and Economic Development Division Manager. In these roles, he oversaw the creation of Cobb County’s Comprehensive Plan and lead the county in economic partnerships and historic preservation.
Between 2012 and 2015, he was the City of Clarkston’s first Planning and Development Manager. In this role, he worked on housing market revitalization and planning and revitalizing the city’s downtown. Previous to his role in Clarkston, he worked in the departments of Transportation and Community Development for Cobb County.
Gaines earned his master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Georgia Tech, and a bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Miami University, Ohio.
Gaines is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and has a certificate of local government management from the UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
Gaines will lead Roswell’s Community Development Department, which preserves and protects the City’s natural and built environments and promotes a balanced economy in the City of Roswell by the use of best planning and development practices. It has a staff of 38 and a budget of over $3.5 million.