After a robust analysis of current and future City of Irvine operations and community priorities, City Manager Oliver C. Chi named Pete Carmichael as Great Park Executive Director and Tim Gehrich as Director of Community Development.

Carmichael has served as the Director of Community Development for the City of Irvine for the past five years. Before assuming his current role, he was the Director of the Orange County Great Park, overseeing the planning and development of the Sports Complex and other public-private partnerships.

In his new role, Carmichael will be responsible for leading the development plan for Great Park, and guiding the City’s Great Park development priorities. This includes coordinating the planning and construction of one of the most ambitious municipal projects in the entire country, as well as other select citywide projects.

In the time I’ve been with the City, I’ve been so impressed with the way that Pete treats and leads people, and his actions have reaffirmed that he believes in our team-oriented approach,” said City Manager Oliver C. Chi. “His professional background and expertise make him a perfect fit to help lead the Great Park team, which has been charged with coordinating one of the largest municipal projects in the entire country.”  

For the past 11 years, Gehrich has served the City of Irvine as the Deputy Director of Community Development, overseeing all of the planning functions, both current and long range, for the City. Prior to this role, he held numerous key positions in the City of Irvine’s Community Development Department, including Assistant, Associate, Senior and Principal Planner, in addition to the positions of Manager of Planning and Development Services, and Interim Director of Community Development.

As Director of Community Development, Gehrich will be responsible for managing, planning, and organizing all programs and activities in the Community Development Department, including Building & Safety, Housing, and Planning and Development Services.

“Our land use experts are a huge part of the reason why Irvine is Irvine, and Tim Gehrich has been intimately involved in every major development in Irvine for more than a decade,” said City Manager Oliver C. Chi. “He has done an incredible job of leading the people in our planning operation to date, and I am certain that he’ll continue to do an outstanding job in his new role leading the entire department as our next Director of Community Development.”

Gehrich holds a Bachelor of Art degree in Social Ecology with emphases in Environmental Health, Urban Planning, and Criminal Justice, from University of California, Irvine. He is a former member in good standing of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and has over 32 years of professional planning experience.

Carmichael is a real estate and planning professional with over 20 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. Before entering public service, he worked in private sector real estate development and finance, including senior roles in acquisitions, entitlement, and asset management. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree as well as a Master of Business Administration degree from UCLA.