Colin Parent is the Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel at Circulate San Diego. He is also an elected member of the City Council of La Mesa, California.
In addition to overall management and legal matters for Circulate San Diego, Colin oversees advocacy and planning efforts for public transit, safe walkable neighborhoods, and environmental and sustainable land use policy.
Colin served on the Jerry Brown for Governor 2010 campaign, and was appointed by Governor Brown as the Director of External Affairs for the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Prior to working for Governor Brown, Colin practiced law for three years as a commercial litigator at the San Diego office of the international law firm of DLA Piper US LLP. During 2013 and 2014, Colin served as the Director of Policy at the San Diego Housing Commission.
He co-founded the San Diego Leadership Alliance, an organization that trains young San Diegans to be equipped for civic leadership. As a board member of the League of Conservation Voters San Diego, he chaired the first ever coalition to grade the environmental records of elected officials in the City of San Diego. Colin is an Eagle Scout and grew up in East County San Diego. He is a graduate of the NYU Law School, and U.C. San Diego.
Colin Parent's activity stream
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Colin Parent published Policy Letter - Support for Leucadia Streetscape Project in Policy Letters 2024-04-24 18:42:41 -0700
Policy Letter - Support for Leucadia Streetscape Project
Circulate sent this letter to support the Support for Leucadia Streetscape Project [pdf]
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Colin Parent donated 2023-04-07 16:58:46 -0700
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Colin Parent published Colin Parent talks Fast Bus!, SANDAG, and VMT fees on the “Talking Headways” podcast. in Blog Posts 2023-02-02 14:02:24 -0800
Colin Parent talks Fast Bus!, SANDAG, and VMT fees on the “Talking Headways” podcast.
This week our Executive Director and General Counsel Colin Parent was interviewed by the “Talking Headways” podcast, one of the leading national podcasts on transit and urban issues.
The interview focused on our recent report “Fast Bus!” about how simple and affordable choices can improve the bus, the workhorse of our region’s transit network.
The interview covered a lot of ground, including what’s good, and what’s not-so-good about SANDAG’s recent transportation plan. And they discuss how the City of San Diego is investing in bus-only lanes, but not in the best locations.
You can also listen in to hear about how Circulate’s recent strategic planning effort is shaping how we do our advocacy work. We are doubling-down on our big research efforts, with long-tail implications to drive policy conversation into he future.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and Streetsblog. -
Colin Parent published Press Release - Circulate San Diego Congratulates the City of San Diego for Winning Prestigious National Housing Policy Leadership Award. in Press Room 2022-10-26 10:55:17 -0700
Press Release - Circulate San Diego Congratulates the City of San Diego for Winning Prestigious National Housing Policy Leadership Award.
PRESS RELEASE – October 26, 2022
Contact: Colin Parent, Executive Director and General Counsel
(619) 567-6856 – [email protected]Circulate San Diego Congratulates the City of San Diego for Winning Prestigious National Housing Policy Leadership Award.
Today Circulate San Diego congratulated the City of San Diego for being awarded the national 2022 Larson Housing Policy Leadership Award by the Urban Lands Institute. The award was announced today to honor the City of San Diego for creating their successful Affordable Homes Bonus Program (ABPB).
“Circulate congratulates the City of San Diego for receiving national recognition for their citywide housing affordability programs,” said Colin Parent, Executive Director and General Counsel for circulate San Diego.
Below is an excerpt from the Urban Lands Institute press release available here – https://americas.uli.org/2022-larson-housing-award-winners:
The City of San Diego enacted its Affordable Homes Bonus Program in 2016, which substantially increased the production of both market-rate and deed-restricted affordable homes. The program builds upon the California Density Bonus Law and allows developers to build more homes if they agree to set aside a subset of a new project as affordable.
Circulate San Diego led a coalition of advocates in 2016 to champion the adoption of the AHBP. Circulate also sponsored Assembly Bill 2345 in 2020 (Gonzalez Fletcher) that extended the AHBP throughout California. In 2020, AB 2345 was the most significant housing production bill signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Earlier this year, Circulate San Diego published a report “Home Run for Homes,” which documents the success of the AHBP. That report showed that in 2020, nearly half of the units entitled in the City of San Diego benefitted from the AHBP. Circulate included data from “Home Run for Homes” when it nominated the City of San Diego for the ULI Larson Housing Policy Leadership Award. The full report is available here: https://www.circulatesd.org/home_run_for_homes.
A copy of “Home Run for Homes” and the press release from the Urban Lands Institute are attached to this release.
About Circulate San Diego
Circulate San Diego is a regional nonprofit think tank dedicated to advancing mobility and making the region a better place to move, work, learn and play. Our work focuses on creating great mobility choices, more walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, and land uses that promote sustainable growth. For more information, go to www.circulatesd.org.
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Colin Parent published Assistant or Associate Planner in Work with Us – Volunteer Internships 2022-10-13 17:25:50 -0700
Assistant or Associate Planner
JOB DESCRIPTION
Position: Assistant or Associate Planner
Hours: Full time, Salaried (some evening and weekend work required)
Supervisor: Executive Director and Director of Planning
Salary: Assistant Planner: $50,000 to $65,000/ Associate Planner: $60,000 to $75,000
Start Date: November 2022
Position Summary
This is a unique opportunity for an entry level to medium level planning professional to join a high-profile organization and a team of collaborative and dynamic planners. This position is perfect for a lateral jump into a nonprofit, or for an up-and-comer looking to take the next step in their career to develop leadership, management, and business skills.
Under the supervision of the Director of Planning, and the Executive Director where appropriate, the Assistant or Associate Planner is responsible for contributing to all activities and functions of Circulate’s value-oriented fee-for-service planning division. As a nonprofit think tank, Circulate uses advocacy, research, and planning to advance our mission of creating excellent mobility choices and vibrant, healthy neighborhoods.
Duties include project management, planning and programmatic work, community engagement, business development, and proposal writing. Our planning team delivers high quality active transportation planning and outreach services. In addition to the competitive salary, the organization also offers generous benefits, a friendly work environment, 401(k), parental leave, sick time, and vacation.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Provides a range of excellent planning services for our active transportation and community outreach clients and partners.
- Cultivates relationships with current and potential private, government, and non-government clients, funders, and project partners to maintain and expand a current book of fee-for-service business and grant-funded planning and other activities.
- Assists the Director of Planning with writing proposals and grants to fund projects, prepares budgets, and project scopes.
- Represents the organization in meetings and acts as representative to a variety of public agencies, businesses, community groups, and other nonprofit organizations; fosters collaborative working relationships to accomplish mutual goals and objectives.
- Prioritizes and allocates available project resources; reviews and evaluates service delivery, makes recommendations for and executes changes in operations where necessary; assists in developing new projects, including researching, compiling and analyzing support data.
- Partners with Executive Director and policy staff to identify where planning efforts and policy advocacy can collaborate to advance the overall organizational mission to create excellent mobility choices and vibrant, healthy neighborhoods.
- Develops systems and maintains records that provide for the evaluation, control, and documentation of assigned projects; assists with invoicing processes, prepares a variety of written correspondence, reports, procedures, directives, and other materials, as required.
- Develops, analyzes, synthesizes, and uses reports and other materials as a policy development tool; develops recommendations and reports to address community concerns and goals.
- Utilizes software tools such as GIS, Adobe Creative Suite, and Microsoft Office to meet organizational needs.
- Performs related work as required dependent on the necessary skills, experience and aptitudes, and subject to such additional responsibilities falling within the general duties of the position.
General Duties
As a staff member of Circulate San Diego, the Associate or Senior Planner is expected to contribute to its overall mission, and:
- Contribute to the friendly and collaborative work environment of Circulate San Diego
- Approach all of our work through the lens of advancing our value-oriented mission
- Assume responsibility for following all policies and procedures
- Attend Board, committee and other internal meetings, as required
- Provide a high level of client service at all times
- Project and maintain a positive image on behalf of Circulate San Diego
Desired Qualifications
- Bachelors or Graduate Degree (or comparable experience) in Planning, Engineering, or other relevant field,
- Experience in active transportation planning, community engagement, and/or relevant field. 2-4 years for Associate Planner, 4+ years for Senior Planner.
- Familiarity with preparing proposals for fee-for-service planning work
- Ability to prospect and write grants to philanthropic funders
- Strong oral and written communications skills
- Experience working with GIS, and the Adobe Creative Suite.
- Spanish fluency a plus
Compensation and Benefits
- Competitive salary: Assistant Planner: $50,000 to 65,000; or Associate Planner: $60,000 to $75,000
- Health and dental coverage
- 401(k) match of up to 7% employer contribution with 3% employee contribution
- 10 annual vacation days
- 10 paid holidays
- 10 annual sick days
- Paid parental leave
- Professional development fund
- Flexible and hybrid work environment
How to Apply
Circulate San Diego values diversity and is an equal opportunity employer. Women, people of color, people with disabilities, and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are encouraged to apply.
Interested applicants should e-mail a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and any relevant work product examples to [email protected], and with the subject line “Planner Application.” No phone calls please.
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by the incumbent(s) of this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities and activities required of the position. This job description is subject to review and amendment in light of experience and in the annual employee review process.
- Provides a range of excellent planning services for our active transportation and community outreach clients and partners.
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Colin Parent published Letter: Request for Governor's Signature on AB 2097 in Policy Letters 2022-09-21 15:00:19 -0700
Letter: Request for Governor's Signature on AB 2097
Circulate sent a letter requesting that Governor Gavin Newsom sign AB 2097 (Friedman). This bill would prohibit local governments from requiring excessive parking for new developments near transit. [PDF]
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Colin Parent published Policy Letter: Support for Regional Transit Fare Impact Study in Policy Letters 2022-08-07 15:04:05 -0700
Policy Letter: Support for Regional Transit Fare Impact Study
Circulate sent a letter of support for SANDAG’s application for funding for a Regional Transit Fare Impact Study. We also strongly encouraged SANDAG to take into account the preferences of current and potential transit riders not just the views of advocacy organizations and professional transit planners. Our letter noted that many foundation-funded advocacy nonprofits have advocated for eliminating fares from transit. We also noted that this was in contrast to surveys form actual low-income riders, which generally show that they are more concerned with improving trip speeds over lowering fares. Read the full letter here. [PDF]
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