I grew up in a small town in Connecticut. I was one of those kids who spent hours on end running through the woods with friends, walking creek beds, fishing and just having the freedom to explore, which now seems to have been the waning of the wonder years. Even though they say you can never go back, I've been able to hold onto some of that. I have been fortunate to blend my interests in nature and numbers to focus my career toward the greener side of things.
After years of work in community-based planning and also as a climbing arborist (by the way, it's a total blast to swing on a 1/2" rope in a 150' tall tree), I discovered park and recreation planning. I spent 6 years with the burgeoning Vancouver-Clark Parks & Recreation Department in Vancouver, WA where I managed park system planning, property acquisitions, funding programs and a great group of folks. In 2006, I took to the road and founded Conservation Technix to help non-profits and local agencies finance, conserve and plan for the active use of open spaces. Now as a member of the Alta team, I'm thrilled about the potential to work with and learn from new communities and help integrate parks and recreation concepts with trail planning to foster active and healthy lifestyles.
Steve is an urban and parks planner and has over ten years experience in public sector and non-profit program management. Steve’s background includes urban and land use planning, park and natural resource planning, urban forestry, real property acquisitions, public involvement and facilitation, policy and budget development and financial and trend analyses.
Steve’s current projects include managing the public involvement and parks and recreation plan development for the cities of Cornelius and Maple Valley, along with an urban forestry management plan for Corvallis. He recently completed work on park system plans for the cities of Bremerton, Fife and Lake Forest Park, the Vancouver Urban Forestry Management Plan, and a park impact fee update and indexing methodology for Clark County.
Recent Projects
- City of Maple Valley Comprehensive Plan: Parks Element – Maple Valley, WA
Mr. Duh prepared a succinct, policy-driven Parks Element for the city of Maple Valley’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan working directly with the departments of Community Development and Parks & Recreation. The project required the review and synthesis of existing planning documentation and fast-paced delivery in coordination with on-going Comprehensive Plan annual review amendments. Additionally, the project team was responsible for developing alternative methodologies for a new park impact fee program. Mr. Duh coordinated these efforts and provided region-specific unit cost data for the rate calculations. Project approval included stakeholder discussions, Planning Commission and City Council. - City of Bremerton Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan - Bremerton, WA
Steve led the city of Bremerton’s parks, recreation and open space plan with an aggressive public outreach campaign for the project involving over a dozen stakeholder discussions, a random-sample mail survey and public meetings in coordination with two concurrent city planning efforts. The planning effort resulted in a new partnership with the Public Works Department for passive recreation use of the city’s utility lands and engendered strong ownership from the Parks Board. Plan approval included SEPA documentation, CTED notification and review, Parks and Planning Commissions and City Council. - City of Vancouver Comprehensive Plan - Parks Element
Mr. Duh authored the Parks Element of the City of Vancouver’s 2003 update to its comprehensive plan. The project involved the distillation and synthesis of 2002 Vancouver Urban Parks Plan, and included an overview and discussion of park system performance measures, goals, standards, financing options, and capital facilities planning. Mr. Duh was also involved in Planning Commission and City Council review and adoption of the city’s comprehensive plan. His work was conducted as staff to the Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation Department.
