Tim Keane, a nationally-recognized city planner who has led four planning departments in the U. S. and Canada, will become the next Director of Baltimore’s Department of Planning.
Mayor Brandon Scott announced on Thursday that Keane has been appointed to replace Chris Ryer, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Keane was unanimously recommended by Baltimore’s Planning Commission, which conducted a nationwide search. His appointment is subject to confirmation by the City Council.
Over his career, Keane has headed the planning departments of Charleston, South Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; Boise, Idaho; and Calgary in Alberta, Canada. He has led efforts to increase affordable housing and promote equitable development, two goals of the Scott administration.
“I’m proud to appoint Tim Keane as our new Planning Director,” Scott said in a statement. “Tim will lead the Planning Department at a critical moment for Baltimore, as we build on our momentum and grow our city in a way that benefits all of our residents. Tim and his colleagues in the Planning Department will be responsible for creating a framework to fuel Baltimore’s growth — because they know that people and businesses thrive in a city that is thoughtfully planned. Tim is the right choice to meet this moment, bringing experience, fresh ideas, and a real passion for cities and their people.”
“Tim understands that good planning is not only essential to a city’s built environment, but also to economic and community development in the broadest sense,” said Planning Commission Chair Jon Laria, in a statement.“He wants to be in Baltimore now because he is committed to Mayor Scott’s bold vision for a growing city.”
As the General Manager of Planning and Development Services for Calgary, Keane helped guide a rezoning that increased affordable housing opportunities citywide. He was there for six weeks, in April and May of 2024. He told a reporter in 2024 that he left Calgary because he needed to be closer to his sons.
Before moving to Calgary, Keane was the Director of Planning and Development Services for Boise, where he led passage of the first new zoning ordinance for the city since 1966. He was there from March of 2022 to March of 2024.
For nearly seven years, from July of 2015 to March of 2022, Keane was the Commissioner of City Planning for Atlanta, where he led Atlanta City Design, a citywide design concept centering equitable development that was incorporated into the city’s charter. He rebuilt Atlanta’s permitting operations with a new business plan, implemented in advance of the busiest construction period in the city’s history. In Atlanta, he also invented an Anti-Displacement Tax Fund to help protect low-income homeowners from displacement.
Before Atlanta, Keane worked for the city of Charleston for more than 16 years, including as Director of Planning, Preservation & Sustainability. He was there from January of 1999 to June of 2015. In Charleston, he led economic development efforts in the city’s downtown district and worked with longtime Mayor Joe Riley, that city’s William Donald Schaefer.
In mid-2024, Keane returned to Charleston to help lead the first reorganization of city government since the 1970s. His title was Section Chief for Planning, Permitting and Engineering and he worked with the departments of Planning, Housing, Stormwater and Development Services. He was there from May of 2024 to the present.
As Baltimore’s Planning Director, Keane will oversee urban planning and design, land use and zoning, development, and capital budgeting, as well as the city’s sustainability, food policy, and historic preservation offices. He will lead the department in its mission to build Baltimore as a diverse, sustainable, and thriving city of neighborhoods and as the economic and cultural driver for the region.
Keane holds a Master of Science in Architecture and a Bachelor of Arts in Planning from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He also served as a Fellow at the University of Miami School of Architecture and on the adjunct faculty at the College of Charleston.
Keane is the latest of several officials appointed to lead agencies and departments that help shape Baltimore’s urban landscape, along with former city planning director Otis Rolley as president and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corp. and Lauren Schiszik as executive director of Baltimore’s preservation commission.
“It is an honor to serve as the next Planning Director for the City of Baltimore and to join Mayor Scott’s administration,” Keane said in a statement. “Throughout my career I have sought to achieve the best outcomes for residents and their city government. For Baltimore to successfully grow, it requires a Planning Department capable of fostering the most effective, ingenious ideas about building a stronger, more united community of people.”
