Mayor Catherine Pugh on Tuesday named Chris Ryer, the longtime head of the Southeast Community Development Corp., to lead the city’s planning department.

Ryer will officially join the city on Feb. 11. He succeeds Tom Stosur, who retired on Oct. 1. Stosur served in the role for 25 years and was appointed director nearly 10 years ago.

Ryer is no stranger to the city’s planning department. He held a number of leadership positions in planning over a 30-year span, including deputy director for the Department of Planning, which he held from 2002 to 2006. He then went on to work in the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s neighborhood revitalization division.

Ryer has served as executive director for the Southeast Community Development Corp. in Highlandtown for the past 12 years, helping to spur renewed interest in the neighborhood’s business district.

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