Malibu : Planning Director Hired

Robert Benard, planning director for Rancho Palos Verdes, has been hired as Malibu’s first planning director, City Manager Ray Taylor announced this week.

Benard will assume the $75,000-a-year post Jan. 6, Taylor said. Malibu will begin handling much of its own planning in the coming year. A private company now provides the city’s planning services.

Benard has been planning director in Rancho Palos Verdes for five years, and was a Long Beach planner for 13 years. Taylor said Benard was chosen over 70 other applicants primarily because of his experience with coastal communities and in dealing with the California Coastal Commission.