Michael joined Brighton as Director of Planning in June of 2007, following a 14-year consultant relationship to provide in-house expertise for the Company’s ongoing projects and forward planning for Brighton’s communities of the future. He is responsible for maintaining current project entitlements, dealing with agencies, and navigating the approvals process for Brighton’s growing communities, including Harris Ranch, River Heights and Barber Station in the Barber Valley; and Paramount and Bainbridge in Meridian.
For nearly 40 years, Michael has been “In pursuit of community,” first as Boise City Planning Administrator, community comprehensive planning program manager for the state of Idaho, then as a private-sector planner who has designed, entitled and developed projects ranging from a few home sites to large-scale planned communities. Locally, his notable community-building efforts include Lakewood and Somerset Ridge, Phase II, in Boise; Brookwood in Eagle; Settlement Bridge in Meridian; and Avimor in Ada County. His out-of-area projects include Elkhorn Valley in Casper, Wyoming, and Saratoga Springs, literally a new city located on the shores of Utah Lake, south of Salt Lake City.
In addition to his community development career, Michael has three, once-in-a-lifetime projects to his credit: site planning leader for the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympics Winter Sports Park in Park City, Utah; planner, “Project Plan and Environmental Assessment” for the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, Newport, Oregon; and manager of the 1,500-acre wetlands mitigation project for the Salt Lake City Airport expansion.
A native of Boise, Michael attended Boise Junior College and graduated in the second, four-year class of Boise College in 1968. He received a Master of Science Degree in Public Administration from Brigham Young University in 1970.
Michael lives in Boise with his wife, Eileen. They have four children (two daughters, two sons). Two of the four, and four of their six grandchildren (three girls, three boys), live in Boise; one resides in Walden Pond, an early Brighton project. Their other two children – and two grand daughters – currently reside in North Carolina and Utah. He bikes, still tries to run, reads, gardens, enjoys photography and astronomy, and teaches the “back-scratch” theory of life to his family.
Professional and Community Activities
Former member of the Davis County, Utah, Planning Commission (seven years)
Mayor’s Development Services Department Reorganization Advisory Committee, Boise
Elected Ada County Highway District Commissioner
Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce Local Government and Transportation Committees
Building Contractor’s Association Developer’s Council
Facilitator of the North Meridian Area Plan, a collaborative effort by the elected officials of the City of Meridian, Ada County Commission, and
Ada County Highway District with the development community
