Sudden, unexplained shakeup at Santa Rosa planning department

Clare Hartman (LinkedIn)

The City of Santa Rosa has had a management shakeup at the top of its planning department.

Clare Hartman, longtime city planner and leader of the department since 2022, was replaced this week by Gabe Osburn, who had been the department’s deputy director. Osburn will serve as interim director until a permanent department head is hired.

The change was announced Monday in an email from City Manager Maraskeshia Smith to the Santa Rosa City Council and mayor.

The email doesn’t reference Hartman, who had worked for the city for more than two decades.

Here’s the text of the email from Smith:

“Effective immediately, Gabe Osborn will serve as Interim Director of Planning and Economic Development. Gabe Osborn’s career in local government has spanned over 27 years, serving in various capacities within the city’s operational and development departments. Since 2015, Mr. Osborn has served as Deputy Director of Development Services within the Planning and Economic Development Department, responsible for creating and implementing programs and services that support the city’s development goals. During his time with the city, Mr. Osborn has worked on numerous residential, commercial, and industrial land use and development projects and directly managed the city’s rebuilding program associated with the 2017 Tubbs Fire. Mr. Osborn’s long history of working closely with the development community and multiple city departments to address policies, fees, practices, and stakeholder alignment across all aspects of land development has allowed the department to achieve defined goals, such as facilitating the delivery of high-density transit-oriented housing to downtown. Gabe holds a Bachelor’s in Anthropology from California State University.”

NBb will update this story with further developments.