New Los Alamos County Community Development Department Director Elias Isaacson stopped by the Los Alamos Daily Post newsroom Wednesday afternoon for a visit. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
BY KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
When Elias Isaacson stepped into his new role as Los Alamos County Community Development Department Director in May, he said it was apparent what his main focuses are: housing and economic development.
Looking at what has been done thus far in these two areas, Isaacson said he feels optimistic about achieving the County Manager’s and County Council’s objectives for economic vitality and housing.
“In the area of housing, I am optimistic,” he said. “We are having a number of productive discussions with developers.”
Isaacson added developers seem very committed to making housing projects happen. He credited Housing Program Coordinator Dan Osborn for doing a great job of bringing affordable and market rate housing to the County.
“Kudos to him,” Isaacson said. “He has really provided us with a lot of guidance and framework (to work with) developers…”
For the business side, Issacson said it is a matter of attracting and retaining businesses. Housing as well as County funds can play a role in affecting businesses, he added.
“All of those things impact businesses’ ability to grow or just maintain business operations,” he said.
Some of the tools the County is looking at to assist local businesses and property owners include the Metropolitan Redevelopment Act (MRA) for the eastern part of downtown Los Alamos, Isaacson said. There is already an MRA established in White Rock.
Another potential tool is offering retail Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) funds; he explained these would be for smaller amounts to help assist local businesses.
Other areas being addressed are the application and review processes for building permits, Issacson said.
“We are always looking at ways to improve our processes to be more user friendly,” he said.
He added he feels the County’s processes are pretty good, pointing out that he has worked in other communities and in comparison, the County has a good turn around time.
Regarding the empty commercial properties in town, Isaacson said his staff are in the process of establishing an inventory of empty commercial buildings to get an understanding of the situation before working with community partners to establish tools to address the reasons behind the vacancies.
While Issacson said he can bring a fresh perspective to the table for achieving a thriving business community and more abundant housing, he noted that there is a good team in place.
“I’m excited to add a new perspective in the two big areas of focus in the community – in housing and economic development … I also want to acknowledge the talented folks who have been doing this prior to my joining the team,” he said.
Before arriving in Los Alamos, Isaacson and his wife lived and worked in Santa Barbara, Calif. His wife works remotely as a photo editor with the New York Times and Isaacson was working as Santa Barbara’s Community Development Director. Before that, he served as a Planning and Land Use Director for the City of Santa Fe. He explained he and his wife decided to move back to the Land of Enchantment because they had a son and both their parents live in Santa Fe.
“We thought it would be great to relocate to New Mexico to be close to family,” Isaacson said.
Then, he saw the County’s Community Development Department Director position being advertised after Paul Andrus’ departure.
“This is such a cool fit,” Isaacson said. “We were very grateful for this opportunity.”
While Isaacson and his family live in Santa Fe, he praises Los Alamos.
“I think Los Alamos is just a really unique community,” he said.
It features not only a national laboratory but an incredible natural environment, Isaacson said.
“I’ve been fortunate to live and work in communities that are very special and unique,” he said. “The opportunity to do this work in a place like Los Alamos is pretty great.”