Planning Director Matt Wendling Reflects on Career in Municipal Planning as Retirement Looms on August 1st

We sat down with Warren County Planning Director Matt Wendling this week after learning of his pending retirement effective August 1st, with Thursday, July 31st, his final day on the  job. We first asked Wendling for a perspective on the career that brought him to the county’s planning department and eventually its directorship.

“I started as an Intern for the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission as a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Intern for the Shenandoah Valley Walking and Wheeling Plan, funded in part by the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, where I was mentored by Tom Christoffel, their Senior Planner, who provided me with an on-the-job experience in planning.

WC Planning Director Matt Wendling at a developmental map of Warren County in the department’s Conference Room on Wednesday, two days before his retirement begins Aug. 1st. It will soon be farewell to those weekly visits to the WCGC. Royal Examiner Photo Roger Bianchini/WCGC Courtesy Photo

“It was during this time that I met Doug Stanley and Taryn Logan during their ‘Living Towns’ workshops and other planning related meetings,” Wendling began, adding, “A position was offered in late 2004 for a Planner 1 in the Warren County Planning Department and Doug was the Planning Director and Taryn was the Deputy Planning Director at the time. And they were seeing growth in the County that required additional staff, and I was hired in January 2005.”

This reporter notes that Wendling’s references were, first, to long-time County Administrator Doug Stanley, whom many believe was scapegoated into an unplanned resignation by a so-called “reform” list of successful county supervisor candidates regarding the circa-2014/2018 Economic Development Authority (EDA) “Financial Scandal”. As the Royal Examiner has reported previously, daily oversight of EDA financial affairs was not part of the county administrator’s job description at the time. Rather, that responsibility fell to the county supervisor-appointed EDA Board of Directors. And the second reference was to Taryn Logan, who was brought aboard as County Planning Director by Stanley at a time earlier in his tenure here when he had been serving the dual role of county administrator and planning director for some time.

But back to the present and Matt Wendling’s pending Aug. 1st retirement, we asked for additional information on his professional growth within the county planning department over subsequent years.

It wasn’t all office work — Wendling, far left, with others on site as Warren Heritage Society History Campers visit the historic Mountain Home site for a look at some of the ground they are studying for its role in the history of the county, state, and the nation. Below, Wendling at the 2023 Dr. Joseph Warren Commemoration Ceremonial, lowering of the Warren County Flag on the Courthouse lawn with the help of South River Supervisor Cheryl Culler’s grandsons. – Royal Examiner File Photos

“Taryn and Doug taught me how to be a Planner and gave me many opportunities to cross-train into Zoning, Floodplain Management, and additional tasks that expanded my knowledge base of the job. When Taryn became the Planning Director she mentored me through many challenging situations we experienced during that time. Following her promotion to Deputy County Administrator, I continue to reach out to her for her knowledge and ideas on transportation planning and local and regional planning.

“I also benefited from being allowed to attend the Land Use Education Program hosted by Virginia Tech and later Virginia Commonwealth University and taught by recently retired Dr. Mike Chandler, whose expertise in the field and inspiration helped add to my knowledge of the field. In 2017, we were immensely fortunate to have Joe Petty join our team as the Zoning Administrator and then Planning Director. And we shared many experiences and interests during that time until he left to become the EDA Executive Director. Those working relationships with Taryn and Joe grew into great friendships, and we stay in touch now that they have moved on to the Regional Commission and Town Manager, respectively. I plan to keep in touch with them as I open my new chapter in my life and look forward to hearing from them and my other fellow colleagues in the future.”

We then asked Wendling about his current staff and the process in place to replace him. “I’ve tried to be a mentor to our Zoning Administrator, Chase Lenz, in the past 3 years and hope that he might be considered for the position. But at this time, the Board of Supervisors and County Administration have not made that decision. Both he and the rest of my Planning staff, Kelly Wahl, Allisson Mutter, and Cory Griffith, have comprised a great team, and though I’ll miss them, I feel confident that the county is in good hands with their dedication, work ethic, and knowledge of their positions.”

Planning Director Matt Wendling with Zoning Administrator Chase Lenz reporting on planning & zoning initiatives at a County Board of Supervisors meeting.

And as we concluded, we asked Wendling about any driving force in his decision to retire at this time. He told us his wife, Brenda, retired in the last few years and had her “Honey, to do” list around the home property ready for him. More seriously, he added that she would be happy to have him available to accompany her on daily walks in their mountain neighborhood, as well as around Edinburg. Wendling also said he would enjoy the around-the-house time with chores like gardening and the ability to travel with his wife for family or other visits on just the spur of the moment notice, regardless of what day of the week it is.

Retirement sounds like a sound plan for Matt Wendling.

Royal Examiner congratulates Wendling on his retirement and thanks him for his 21 years of service to this community, including leading the County Planning Department over the past three years. Among department accomplishments in recent years has been the drafting of a new Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted this year after initial review began in 2018. And Wendling noted that with the assistance of Zoning Administrator Chase Lenz, the department was able to get Warren County accepted into the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Community Rating System (CRS). And the County adopted both a revised Family Subdivision Ordinance and Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinance designed to facilitate the expanded proximity of family members to each other, including as older members reach retirement age.

Just saying, Matt …