Franklin’s new planning and zoning director stepping into ‘dream job’

FRANKLIN — After three months without a planning and zoning director, David Chunn stepped into the role for the Granite State’s smallest city on Oct. 31. In just a few weeks on the job, he's catching up on outstanding work in progress. And growing up in Alabama and living in New Hampshire for the first time, he is acclimating to his new home.

“When I wake up, there's just fog rolling in off the hills, through the trees, and all you hear is the rivers running by,” Chunn said. “I love it here. I really, genuinely do. I'm delighted to be here.”

City Manager Judie Milner, who made the decision with a hiring board to bring Chunn to Franklin, said interviewing him made it clear he was the right choice for the city. She said he was well researched, having studied the rules, charter and vision and mission statements of Franklin. He read the minutes, she said, “nobody does that.”

He also watched the recordings of recent city meetings with heated discussion of various economic development projects, including the Franklin Opera House bond. Milner believes he showed commitment and interest in the city.

“It just struck me as, this guy is going to do everything he possibly can for Franklin,” she said. “He understands that we don't have enough staff. He understands we don't have enough money. He understands we're in a little bit of a political turmoil right now. And all he wants to do is a good job for Franklin, and I believe that he will.”

Chunn grew up on a dairy farm in Cottondale, Alabama, and earned a bachelor’s degree in history at Auburn University, and a master’s degree in city and regional planning from the University of Memphis. He has performed a variety of roles, from a planner in Hot Springs, Arkansas, to community development programs manager at Washington University School of Medicine, in St. Louis. Now, he believes he has found his dream job in Franklin.

“A lot of people, they want to go into the field, and they want to work their way up, and then they want to work at like [a] large city, maybe being a planning director of like a Concord or a Manchester, or a Boston, maybe. That's not really my thing,” Chunn said. “I've always enjoyed living and working in smaller towns and smaller communities, and so when this came up, it was just honestly a dream job.”

The planning and zoning director role is unique in that responsibilities are often varied. While there are many long-term projects to attend to, like Mill City Park or Stevens Mill, Chunn's days will also be filled with short-term property zoning matters. Chunn said this experience is something he would not get in a larger city where work is spread among more staff and each role is usually dedicated to one particular task. Chunn is looking forward to the variety.

“It's important that you not specialize in any one particular thing, that you know how to do a little bit of everything,” he said. “Especially in a small city like Franklin, that has such a small government staff, you're often called upon to do things that, they're not exactly in your area of interest, but it helps everyone else contribute to that.”

The whitewater park was a draw for Chunn, being a kayaker himself. His main goal is to help people navigate the processes of government.

“It would be nice if we could all live in a world where we didn't pay taxes and there was no government or no need for it, but we don't live in that world. So, government’s [a] necessary evil, and there has to have these processes in place,” he said.

“I've always seen my role is to help people navigate those processes. I don't want government, or my office, or really any part of government, to be a barrier or a blockage or to prevent or prohibit someone from doing something that they want to do if it's allowed by law and by the code.”

He went on to say some issues can occur due to outdated law or code. With proper discussion, he hopes to look at some of these problems and keep the government in modern times.

“I view all those things as sort of like living documents that are not written in stone, that need to be tweaked based on needs and demands and just whatever the conditions are,” he said.

Laconia Planning Director Rob Mora hopes Franklin’s new planning and zoning director works with the Lakes Region Planning Commission to see how each municipality should come together as a region. Mora wants Chunn to think about how the region can prosper and move in the right direction, toward the same ultimate goals.

Mora said housing is an issue all across the Lakes Region, and everyone must work together to help solve it.

“Each of us in our own communities are all facing issues with that,” Mora said. “It's working together as a collective community within the region of how we move forward with finding solutions to the housing issues that we're all facing.”

Chunn understands economic development can be contentious. He believes economics is not a science, and choosing projects for long-term revitalization is often a gamble. He encourages discussion, as each decision affects the lives of his residents.

“I think the disagreements about those sort of things are to be expected,” Chunn said. “They're healthy because it would be boring, and I think maybe a little undemocratic if the city spent taxpayer money in a way that did not have a robust discourse about whether that was appropriate or whether that wasn't the best use for what the public wanted or needed.”

Chunn is still learning about his new city. His approach has been to immerse himself in the community, talking with residents and visiting local businesses. This way, he hopes to develop a comprehensive view of what people think Franklin should be.

“Everyone I met was just very honest and matter of fact,” he said. “And just however they responded to you, was the way that they thought about it.”

Cities are ever-changing, and he will stay tuned for what his city is telling him.

“It's not a science, and I think you have to tweak it, and you have to experiment with it a little bit,” he said. “Because cities are nothing more than, sort of, a living organism of people.”