Julie Ann Woods, FAICP
James Sasser (J.S.): Can you tell us a little about your professional background and what drew you to the multi-disciplinary fields of planning, design, and preservation?
Julie Ann Woods (J.W.): I grew up in Detroit during the 1960s and experienced first hand the transition from “Once a Great City” (an insightful book by David Maraniss), to the devastation and pain inflicted on that city during the race riots. Although I planned to study architecture, I ended up with a B.S. in Urban Planning from Michigan State University. Dr. John Mullin, Emeritus Professor of Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst’s Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning program was my first planning professor and I vividly remember how passionate he was about planning and the history of cities, their functions, what makes them beautiful, and the City Beautiful movement. After taking one class with him, I was hooked. Although I started my career in bicycle-transportation planning (biking was my mode of transportation), I discovered that regional planning was too large a geographic area to comprehend, so I ended up working in municipalities that I could better grasp as a design and economic unit. Preservation wasn’t on my radar at that time, but then I met two elderly spinster sisters who lived in the town I worked for, and they shared their collection of old photographs with me. These included photos of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1933! Their sharing of these treasures and history led me to understand how important it is for communities to remember their past—the good, the bad, and the ugly. To make cities as beautiful as possible, I realized I needed more training as a designer, so I moved to Denver where I received my Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Colorado at Denver. While there, I volunteered to be part of a team of architects, landscape architects (including my husband, Jeff Woods), and planners to put the Denver Parks & Parkways System on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2003, the APA designated the Parks & Parkways System a National Planning Landmark!
Although I went into private practice as a landscape architect, planning and historic preservation kept drawing me elsewhere. After a short stint as a planner in Vermont’s Ski Country, I moved back to Colorado and immersed myself in history by buying the John Owen home in Idaho Springs–a beautiful Victorian–and worked to put it on the State Register. I was also the Historic Preservation Officer for Central City, Colorado, and later became that City’s first Community Development Director in 1994. By 1997 I moved to Aspen and became the Community Development Director there, overseeing planning, building, environmental health, and historic preservation. Aspen was losing many mid-century lodges and buildings to “McMansions,” so we developed white papers about the importance of that early ski-resort era and developed a program that provided a variety of incentives to ensure their preservation. We also instituted the first ever historic preservation contractor licensing program in the country (awarded the Colorado APA Innovation Award in 2001).
In 2004, I left the City of Aspen to pursue a private practice specializing in ski-resort development and preservation based in Crested Butte. Some of my clients included Mt. Crested Butte, Telluride, Steamboat Springs, and Aspen. I am now Snowmass Village’s Community Development Director, overseeing the planning and development of the new $650-million Base Village project currently under construction (with a grand opening scheduled for December 15, 2018). Although we do not have a historic preservation program in Snowmass Village, we did include language in our soon-to-be-adopted Comprehensive Plan that sets the stage for us to begin inventorying the important “atomic age” buildings that were constructed when the resort was established fifty years ago. Once a preservationist, always a preservationist!
J.S.: I’m sure a lot of our student members would like to know what you enjoy most about your day-to-day work, and in so, do you have any advice for future planners and designers?
J.W.: I really like the variety of work in the planning profession. I enjoy working with developers and residents alike, helping them to get the most value out of their property, while making sure construction projects reflect good urban-design principles and have high-quality construction for the current community and future generations. My advice to future planners and designers is to work in both the public and private sector (the best planners have had this experience), and to experience a variety of planning and design roles. Growing up in Detroit, I never dreamed I’d work as a resort planner in Colorado who has influenced design in several ski resorts. Then again, I never thought I would see the transformation of Detroit from a burned-out shell of a city to a high-energy, millennial city with diversity and choice being preserved for future generations like it is today. If I were a twenty-something again and just starting my career, I’d head to Motown to ride the crest of urban development and historic preservation that will once again create a great city.
J.S.: The FAICP designation is a huge deal in the field of planning (congratulations!), is FAICP something you have strived for, or is it something that happened unexpectedly?
J.W.: I don’t think any planner strives to become FAICP—you just have to be a good planner and be passionate about the profession. I am very proud of the fact that I was one of the first women planners in Colorado to receive the FAICP honor in 2016. I feel so privileged to be in the same company with people like my former professor John Mullin, whom I so admire. Yes, it happened unexpectedly, but I realized while making the application for the nomination that I have had a wonderfully successful career doing what I enjoy and making contributions to the communities I’ve worked in—and that is what planning is all about.
J.S.: Has becoming a fellow changed your perspective on the field of planning and design?
J.W.: The FAICP recognition has helped me to see good planning and design as a mandate that should never be compromised. One of the most challenging jobs I held was as Community Development Director for the City of Pueblo, where I saw compromises too often. I love the “Steel City of the West," and own a really cool mid-century-modern house there where I plan to retire. With my FAICP credential, I am confident I can influence good city planning and preservation through the arts and with the creative society that is growing there. I realize I don’t have to be a professional planner to do this, just a passionate protector of the good in a city.
J.S.: How do you see the future of the built environment? Are there any trends or practices that you strongly believe in?
J.W.: I see the future of the built environment as a laboratory for experimentation and improved quality of life. As a Motown girl, I’m thrilled to read and hear so much about autonomous vehicles and what they can do for me as I age in an urban environment. I love that millennials are choosing to move to cities to contribute their knowledge and make them better, healthier, more interesting, creative, and alive. I strongly believe in the young people who are committed environmentalists that understand climate change is a big deal, and are working to slow its impact. Although I am part of the generation that started “Earth Day," it is the millennial generation that is willing to sacrifice to save our planet because they have to for the coming generations.
J.S.: Lastly, what is something that most people don’t know about you?
J.W.: On a personal note, most people don’t know that I married my college sweetheart and we just celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary! My husband, Jeff Woods, is a landscape architect and the Manager of Parks and Recreation for the City of Aspen. He is an amazingly talented LA who designed and oversaw development of the John Denver Sanctuary with Annie Denver and their family.
Although we’ve both worked for resort communities, it was really our kids who got me into resort planning and development. Jeff and I were passionate skiers and mountain bikers, so we raised our kids in that lifestyle and they became competitive ski and mountain-bike racers. Our daughter was on the US Ski Team as a downhill and super-G specialist, and our son was ranked one of the top mountain bikers of his age-class in the Nation while in his teens. When they chose to attend the Crested Butte Academy to fulfill their athletic pursuits, I went into private practice to work on the Crested Butte Mountain resort as the town’s planner so that I could be closer to my kids. The rest is history!