Ash Syed joined the City of La Habra in May 2024 after seven years working for various jurisdictions throughout Southern California. He started his planning career in 2017 with the County of Riverside as a Planner I where he reviewed and approved various projects and worked on the comprehensive update to the Countywide Zoning Ordinance. In 2018, he started his position as an Associate Planner with the City of Highland where he processed a variety of Conditional Use Permits, Design Review Applications, and General Plan Amendments for large scale developments such as warehouses, housing tracts, and mixed-use projects. In 2023, he accepted his most recent role as a Senior Planner with the City of Rancho Cucamonga where he processed three simultaneous Environmental Impact Reports for three warehouse developments spanning over 200 acres. Prior to his career in the planning field, upon graduating from UC Davis in 2015 with his Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Engineering, Ash worked for Wipomo Energy as an Efficiency Analyst where they designed solar arrays for commercial developments. In his free time, Ash loves to play basketball and travel with his wife and two daughters. He says “my career plan was to go to the NBA, but since I wasn’t athletic enough, city planning was the next best thing”.