Former city planner and lobbyist Jeff Lambert, whose name has been thrown around during some of the area’s most controversial real estate development discussions, has been hired as the Planning Director for the City of Ventura.

“I really like public service,” Lambert said. “It’s a great city with a great council and city manager with a lot of opportunities.”

Lambert graduated in 1988 with a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Southern California and has worked in the field since 1986. He was Director of Planning for the City of Santa Clarita from 1998 to 2003 and was named Distinguished Planner of the Year in 2004 by the California Chapter of the American Planning Association.

He also serves on the executive board of the Los Angeles District Council of the Urban Land Institute and is an adjunct professor at USC.

Since leaving Santa Clarita, he has worked as a private consultant and lobbyist for various projects before the City Council, including the expansion of Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, the Casden proposal for North Newhall, The Avenues project on the old Smiser Mule Ranch property and with Sheraton Corporation to place one of their hotels in Valencia.

He is easing out of his private client obligations to take the Ventura job, which officially begins June 15. Lambert feels his experience on both sides of the planning process will give him a unique perspective that will work to Ventura’s benefit.