It might help to be an optimist to manage the Planning Department in a state like Oregon where public input is built into every step of the land-use process and in a city like Corvallis that so prizes citizen input.

Fred Towne, who retired Friday after 19 years as a Corvallis planner and almost five at the helm of the department, is just that. Not even retiring on Friday the 13th could shake him.

"Yesterday my wife and I went up to drop off all my PERS paperwork and when we were driving down [Highway] 99, all of a sudden there was this big rainbow all the way across the road," Towne said.

The process of creating rules for zoning and resource protection inside city limits can be contentious, and Towne has been involved with all of the recent big ones: the city's transportation plan, natural resources inventory, long-range facilities planning and historic and infrastructure planning at Oregon State University.

And even when the code rules seemed completely tangled, Towne said perspective helped him soldier on.

"What I think, and what I try to get everyone here to think, is that the work you're doing is not yours, it's the community's," he said. "Your job is to use your expertise to help the Planning Commission and City Council achieve their vision. Virtually every time the plan will improve because of the process."

Towne started his career in the engineering department in Toledo, where he worked on major projects to replace the city infrastructure. When the planner quit, Towne picked up those duties as well.

And when a planning job in Corvallis opened up, he was well-suited to tackle big issues, though for years he drove to work from his off-the-grid house in Eddyville.

Towne, who is also a folk singer and songwriter, said he has simple ideas for the immediate future: play more music and take it easy through the winter. Next spring though, he and wife, Cindy, have plans to travel the country to see friends.

"You know the saying that house guests are like fish; after three days they start to smell?" he said. "Always with that in mind, long enough to enjoy company and that's all."

Matt Neznanski can be reached at

758-9518 or matt.neznanski@lee.net