David Church, Commissioner, Orange County Dept of Planning
David Church serves as the President of the HVADC Board.
He is currently Commissioner of Planning for Orange County, New York. Appointed to this position in 2002, he oversees land use, planning, agriculture, tourism, and grant units of County government as well as the County Water Authority, and the County Transportation Council (or MPO). Previously he was Executive Director of the Albany-based New York Planning Federation. He has also held positions with The Catskill Center and the Conservation Foundation/World Wildlife Fund. Early in his career he was a partner in Landscape Studies specializing in environmental impact assessment.
He is a board member of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the Hudson Valley Agribusiness Development Corporation, and the Land Use Advisory Committee to the NYS Legislative Commission on Rural Resources. David has written several books on land use and zoning including The Short Course: A Basic Guide for Members of Planning Boards and Zoning Boards of Appeals, and The Shawangunk Ridge Conservation and Design Guidebook. A member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, he is a graduate of Hamilton College (Geology) and has studied at Empire State College.
Raised in northern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, he lives with his wife and two children in the Town of Shawangunk (shon-gum), New York where he has served three terms as a member of the Planning Board.