eda Expands Planning Department: Two New Planners Bring Decades of Experience to the Firm

Sergio Reyes and Clay Sweger, Principals of eda engineers – surveyors – planners, inc., are welcoming Onelia Lazzari and Lowell Garrett as Senior Planners in the company’s Planning Department. Lazzari and Garrett bring decades of experience and expertise in land planning in the public sector to eda. “Their combined experience in North Central Florida will be a tremendous asset to our clients and our community,” Sweger said.

Lowell Garrett, AICP, has worked as a professional urban planner for more than 40 years. He graduated from the University of Florida, and received an MS from Nova Southeastern University. Garrett began his career as the first professional planner for the City of Alachua, followed by almost a decade as the Assistant Planning Director of the City of Coral Gables, Florida. He returned to north Florida in the mid-80s and served as the Senior Planner for Local Government Assistance with the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council for almost 20 years, working with the planning needs of 10 counties and 38 municipalities. In 2003, Lowell accepted the Planning Director’s position with the City of Newberry and helped direct sustainable residential growth and encouraged economic development in that role for 10 years.

Onelia Lazzari, AICP, was a Principal Planner supervising Comprehensive Planning, Geographic Information System (GIS), and Historic Preservation for the City of Gainesville, and worked with the Planning and Development Services Department for more than 29 years. Lazzari has a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from Florida State University and is a member of the American Planning Association (APA) and the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). In her time with the City of Gainesville, she supervised production of the most recent City of Gainesville Comprehensive Plan and assisted with updates to the City’s Land Development Code. Lazzari has extensive experience in transportation planning and GIS, and reviewed many of the major development projects in the city. She brings decades of work experience with the City of Gainesville and stakeholders in the area to her new role as a Senior Planner at eda.