The city of Tullahoma is growing. Responsible for making sure that growth takes place in the correct space is Mary Samaniego. Samaniego is the planning director for the City of Tullahoma Planning Department.
Samaniego, who has been working for the City of Tullahoma since 2020 as a senior planner, was recently asked to step up to director by the Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Now as director, Samaniego’s experience and expertise as a planner will be utilized as the city embarks upon the implementation stages of the Think Tullahoma 2040 Plan.
A transplant from Tampa, Samaniego moved to the area in 2020 to fulfill a plan that she and her husband had been making for several years.
“It had always been my husband’s and [my] plan that when our sons were grown and out of high school, to slow down and move to a small town,” she explained. “We had spent years researching different places and places that we might want to move [to]. We had settled on this part of Tennessee. And then our youngest graduated from high school, and we were both working feverishly in Tampa and COVID hit. [During] all that time at home, we did a lot of reflecting.”
Samaniego said it was then that she and her husband decided to make their long-awaited move. While searching, she came across a job posting for a senior planner on the city’s website, and the rest of their plan was set into motion.
THE WORK OF PLANNING
While it might be a mystery to some, the duties of a city planner are many that include designing and adapting city plans for population growth and development. “We regulate development in a certain jurisdiction,” she said. “I oversee all the long run plans for the city of Tullahoma as well as the day-to-day zoning. An example would be in our plan that we are about to adopt. There is a project of potentially widening Cedar Lane. So I would manage that project. I would look for grants to help pay for it, coordinate with TDOT (Tennessee Department of Transportation), [and] work with the public works departments. I also work with things as small as when someone wants to add a garage to their house. I see the site plan to make sure the addition isn’t too close to the property lines and is in the right zoning district. It runs from one extreme to the other.”
Samaniego said she enjoys seeing how each project helps the individual citizen or the city overall.
“I like seeing how the projects we work on impact the citizens,” she said. “We’ll see a new business come in, and I can see how it affects the community in a positive way. From jobs, to giving them something fun to do or enjoy. It’s great to help those people fulfill either their personal or business dreams.”
Samaniego said she is enjoying her new city and appreciates the diversity and commitment to the town from its citizens.
“I really like the people here,” she said.
“It is really a great community. I’ve met a lot of different kinds of people that live here, a lot of people like myself that have moved here and a lot of natives. The people I’ve met really love Tullahoma.” GN
