Anastazia Aziz, AICP, joined EMC Planning Group as a principal in January 2022.
Ms. Aziz holds the position of Principal. Her main responsibilities are local coastal programs (LCP) and planning.

Ms. Aziz previously worked at the City of Pacific Grove for eight years and culminated her time there as the Director of the Community Development Department. During this time, she achieved many significant accomplishments including attaining the first certified Local Coastal Program in the city’s history. She also embarked on a comprehensive update of the Historic Resources Inventory to better align with state and national criteria, and worked on the Welcome Home: Creating a More Affordable Future Mayor’s initiative.

Ms. Aziz oversaw a wide variety of departmental projects including managing water
entitlements for development within the Central Coast’s scarce potable water
environment and working with the county on hazard mitigation planning,
including addressing sea level rise. She also supervised the planning and
building entitlement processes, code enforcement, and housing policy. She is
well versed at conducting public outreach meetings and staffing a wide variety
of commissions and boards, in addition to representing the city departments at city
council meetings.

Prior to working for the City of Pacific Grove, Ms. Aziz was employed at the City of San Jose for 12 years where she gained experience and expertise in three departments: Development Services, Environmental Services, and the City Manager’s Office. She brings expertise in the areas of advanced policy planning, current planning, storm water regulations, coastal zone management, climate change and sea level rise, historic preservation, contract administration, and city government administration.

Ms. Aziz holds a Bachelor’s of Environmental Studies degree in urban and regional planning with a minor in English Literature from the University of Waterloo, Canada.  She was awarded the Commonwealth Scholarship from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka where she researched urban industrial pollution and related environmental issues.