Andrew Spurgin

What do you think makes Georgetown different from places you've previously worked?

I think in Georgetown—and this is one of the things that attracted me—I sense there is more of a shared common vision for the future. We know we are going to grow, so we've put forethought into the roads and utilities in place to support it, but we also know that downtown is our signature. [In] Leander and even Pflugerville, the downtown is not the same experience that you have here. [Downtown] really is a place that we can nurture and continue to attract people to but then provide quality neighborhoods on the periphery and the supporting infrastructure to get around. I think there is a real shared vision for that. That was very refreshing for me to see.

What are the planning challenges Georgetown faces?

Some of the challenges are going to be the population growth. On the one hand, the models that have been done from various sources just show Georgetown—and Williamson County as a whole—going up. Austin spillover is a factor, especially with some large employers located farther north. Dell is this direction. Even Apple, which is adding 3,000 jobs, is further north, so people are going to live in Williamson County. One of the challenges, I think, if you look at the population cohorts in this country, is the boomer generation which drove the housing market for the last 40 years in terms of single-family homes and separation of land uses, and the population behind the boomers is a smaller cohort. I would be concerned there is going to be the next housing crisis, and we need to be mindful of that as we continue to run with our 2030 vision for the future and what kind of housing diversity our city has. There was a recent study that showed the millennial generation would rather give up their car than their smartphone. I interpret that to mean they may make tradeoffs in their choices of living. They may not want the house 10 miles outside of town. They may want to live close in, in something that is not as nice if it means they get to keep their iPhone.

What is your planning philosophy?

My personal philosophy is we need to have an emphasis on customer service, and that's very broad. It doesn't mean the developer walks in the door, and we do whatever he or she asks for. Customer service means that when people contact us—citizens or developers—that we help them understand that we have a unified development code, we have a 2030 plan and all these pieces are related as we are moving toward a common vision.

Are there any new trends that you see happening in Georgetown?

I think we are seeing interest in making better use of properties in downtown. The Two Rivers apartments, for example—[the property] had been a motel, but the site was situated on a major street and had utilities in place, so it made redevelopment easier than going out to somewhere on the edge of the city that didn't have utilities.

I see that trend going on where people look for sites that are going to be easier to use. The lenders continue to be very conservative right now, and I think projects that are easier to get through are going to be what we are going to see for a while.