PORTSMOUTH — Peter L. Britz will become the city’s new director of planning and sustainability, effective Jan. 3, 2023, City Manager Karen Conard announced Tuesday. He is currently Associate Director, Environmental Planner and Sustainability Coordinator and previously served as Interim Planning Director from September to December 2021.
“I am pleased to announce that Peter Britz has agreed to serve as Director and ensure the planning department has a seamless transition,” said City Manager Karen Conard. “I appreciate the efforts Peter has made as interim director of urban planning to fulfill the responsibilities of the post while managing his own as environmental planner and sustainability coordinator, and know that he continues to bring a wealth of institutional knowledge and experience to the planning department brings in. Peter has worked to ensure the city protects our natural resources and has helped the public understand the balances required to keep our environment safe and our commitment to being a safe eco-community.
“I know that under his leadership, the department will continue to address the goals of the current Master Plan, the Open Space Plan, the work to complete the Climate Action Plan and the Master Plan effort coming up in 2025, as well as the adjustments we need to meet the threat of the surge of sea level in this historic port city,” said Conard. “Peter’s first request for consideration was to have the department renamed to accurately reflect the work of his team and the city as a whole going forward. Effective immediately, the department will be known as Planning and Sustainability .”
Britz joined the Portsmouth Planning Department in 2000 as the city’s environmental planner after working as an environmental consultant in NH and Massachusetts. In 2008, as sustainability efforts became a priority for the city, he was appointed Sustainability Coordinator. In this role, he served as the planning department’s liaison to the Blue Ribbon Committee on Sustainable Practices, which is dedicated to raising awareness among residents of initiatives the city is pursuing as an eco-community. He is recognized by his regional and national peers as the voice of sustainability for the New Hampshire Coast.
From 1996 to 1999 he worked for Fishman Environmental Services in Portland, Oregon as a coastal and natural resource planner. He holds a master’s degree in marine affairs from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College in Vermont.