Spokane County hires Chesney, once fired by city of Spokane, as planning director

Spokane County has hired a new Building and Planning Director.

Scott Chesney, a former Planning and Development Director for the city of Spokane, has been hired to replace retiring director John Pederson. Chesney worked for the city of Spokane from October 2011 to November 2014, when he was fired as planning director, and more recently was the Director of Project Management for Columbia International Finance in Spokane.

According to a county news release, Chesney has more than 30 years of urban and regional planning experience and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s of science in architecture, planning and urban development. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, he also studied urban planning at the University of Wisconsin but did not complete a graduate degree.

Originally from Minneapolis, Chesney moved to the Spokane area with his wife in 2011.

He started earlier this month.