David J. Gellner, Mag, Aicp Email & Phone Number

Cottonwood Heights, Utah, United States

I started at POWER on October 17, 2022 as a member of the Western Environmental Services Group in the position of Senior Environmental Planner. My position is focused on supporting the land use, permitting and public processes for power delivery and renewable energy projects. My work at POWER allows me to interact with planning officials and staff at the municipal, county, state and federal level since linear energy projects often cross a variety of jurisdictions and lands uses, and are… Show more I started at POWER on October 17, 2022 as a member of the Western Environmental Services Group in the position of Senior Environmental Planner. My position is focused on supporting the land use, permitting and public processes for power delivery and renewable energy projects. My work at POWER allows me to interact with planning officials and staff at the municipal, county, state and federal level since linear energy projects often cross a variety of jurisdictions and lands uses, and are not discreet point features. Understanding legislative bills and processes and being able to effectively research and analyze zoning, planning and permitting regulations, hold effective meetings and outreach with agency staff, and, compile cohesive applications for clients that meet that jurisdiction's requirements are things that I thrive on. Projects with a federal nexus have allowed given exposure to working with the NEPA and EIS process. After 24 years as a public sector planner in various government roles, I speak and understand the “government language” side of permitting and planning and I bring those skills and knowledge to the table for POWER and our clients. Show less

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Promoted to Senior Planner within the Salt Lake City Planning Division starting in June 2021. In that role I continued my work on the Planning Team at SLC and continued to work on a variety of interesting, challenging and exciting planning projects in order to help make Salt Lake City a great place to live, work, and play. Notable projects included the redevelopment of the defunct Utah Theater site on Main Street and the rezoning of City-owned property to establish the "Tiny homes village"… Show more Promoted to Senior Planner within the Salt Lake City Planning Division starting in June 2021. In that role I continued my work on the Planning Team at SLC and continued to work on a variety of interesting, challenging and exciting planning projects in order to help make Salt Lake City a great place to live, work, and play. Notable projects included the redevelopment of the defunct Utah Theater site on Main Street and the rezoning of City-owned property to establish the "Tiny homes village" being pursued by the Other Side Academy and Mayor's Office. Show less

Greater Salt Lake City Area

Principal Planner for the Salt Lake City Planning Division starting in December 2014. As a Principal Planner I worked on numerous large-scale capital projects for Salt Lake City including the development of a new Sugar House Fire Station, the City's Homeless Resource Centers and a new state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant in the Rose Park area. Some planners would not find a sewage plant "sexy" to work on but it is one of the things that keeps our society going (and civilized if you will)… Show more Principal Planner for the Salt Lake City Planning Division starting in December 2014. As a Principal Planner I worked on numerous large-scale capital projects for Salt Lake City including the development of a new Sugar House Fire Station, the City's Homeless Resource Centers and a new state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant in the Rose Park area. Some planners would not find a sewage plant "sexy" to work on but it is one of the things that keeps our society going (and civilized if you will) and it is a fascinating feat of both engineering and science in scale and function. (And it is an inadvertent source of puns and bad office jokes when you are the one working on it)As a planner, public projects such as these leave me with a feeling of professional accomplishment in defining the future through the establishment of something tangible to benefit the community. These are among the things that drive me as a planner and some of the main reasons I entered the profession in the first place. Show less

As a board member, I am responsible for acting as a liaison between the Utah Chapter of the APA and Western Planner Resources to coordinate on issues related to planning and development in the western United States. From the Western Planner Resources bylaws: "The purpose of WPR shall be to support and develop educational research and information-sharing opportunities for professional and lay people who are active in the practice of community or regional planning in the West."

Elected as the Secretary for the Utah APA Chapter. Help coordinate meetings of the Executive Committee, keep minutes and help keep the larger organization informed of Chapter events and happenings.

Greater Salt Lake City Area

My work for Salt Lake County was focused on coordinating developments and land use policy for the County’s environmentally sensitive Wasatch Canyons. I was charged with leading the creation of new general plans and land-use ordinances for these areas. I shared information about this work at various planning conferences and public venues as a speaker, presenter and panelist and as a radio guest. Past projects for Planning & Development Services include the following: * Wasatch… Show more My work for Salt Lake County was focused on coordinating developments and land use policy for the County’s environmentally sensitive Wasatch Canyons. I was charged with leading the creation of new general plans and land-use ordinances for these areas. I shared information about this work at various planning conferences and public venues as a speaker, presenter and panelist and as a radio guest. Past projects for Planning & Development Services include the following: * Wasatch Canyons General Plan Development - Project Manager * Foothills & Canyons Overlay Zone Ordinance Revisions - Project Manager * Cooperative County Plan (CCP) - Project Manager * Appointed to the Salt Lake County Mayor's Sustainability Cabinet * Emigration Canyon Township General Plan development - Project Manager * Mountain Accord Project (nee Wasatch Summit Project) Steering Committee and Technical Committee member. * Wasatch Canyons Tomorrow Vision - PDS rep - technical and steering committees * PDS liaison to Solitude Ski Resort and Brighton Ski Resorts * Wasatch Legacy Project - PDS rep * Salt Lake County Open Space Advisory Committee - PDS rep Show less

Cleveland, Ohio

Worked as seasonal help on the bottling line and in the warehouse at this well-known and celebrated Cleveland brewery. Helped to make a great product with take home perks!

Cleveland/Akron, Ohio Area

Worked as a hired consultant and technical writer for development of a watershed management/priority plan for the Tinkers Creek watershed in north-east Ohio.

Austin, Texas Area

Highlights: Management of grant-funded division projects - grant seeking, writing and management - development of a county-wide flood management plan - regional committee meeting coordination.

Austin, Texas Area

Highlights: Grant program oversight for four State planning regions - team member in development of the State of Texas Solid Waste Management Plan & plan presentation at state-wide public meetings.

Highlights: Management of a 10-county regional grant program - regional grant committee & program coordination - grant seeking and writing - supervision of own staff - development and adoption of a regional solid waste management plan - presentations to the Texas Legislature during committee hearings on waste and recycling related legislation.

Master'S Degree In Applied Geography, Resource & Environmental Studies

Activities and Societies: Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of Geography Master's research project dealt with environmental.

B.A., Geography

Activities and Societies: Environmental Awareness Association Trying to figure out my life's direction while working lots of hours.