Schumacher to Leave Planning Agency after 28 Years

Photo: Southern Maine Regional Planning and Development Commission

From a press release

The Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission plans to advertise nationwide to find a replacement for long-time leader, Paul Schumacher, who plans to step down this summer.

Schumacher grew the agency substantially during his 28-year tenure, including the EPA Brownfields program that has funded much of the cleanup of Sanford’s former textile mill buildings and the CGA site.

Schumacher says the nonprofit is thriving and he feels confident about its future; “We have some of the most highly skilled, diverse and energetic people I have ever seen at any organization, along with the resources to help them flourish. It is a wonderful confluence of personalities and talent, and I am gratified to have been a part of it over the years. For me, it’s particularly rewarding to see the impact on our member communities in York County and parts of southern Oxford County.”

Staffing at the agency has more than doubled to 15 in just the past four years. SMPDC’s Brownfields revolving loan program grew from a $200,000 grant in 2005, and now handles more than $15 million, which has been invested in underutilized and hazardous sites across the region. Under Schumacher’s advocacy, SMPDC was designated as its own economic development district by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, establishing a consistent source of economic development funds for the region. Most recently, the creation of SMPDC’s Regional Sustainability and Resilience program in 2020, and the addition of expert staff to lead it, has led to nearly $6 million in leveraged funds for addressing resilience and climate change in the region.

“Providing land use planning assistance to municipalities has been a mainstay of the agency’s focus for decades, but now that effort includes sharing expertise on affordable housing, broadband expansion, and transportation improvements,” Schumacher said.

Prior to joining SMPDC in 1996, Schumacher worked as a Town Planner in several southern Maine towns and also at a consulting firm on Cape Cod. Paul has a B.A. from the University of New Hampshire and a master’s degree in Urban/Environmental Policy from Tufts University. His retirement will begin this summer.