Monroe County will soon need to fill one of its most important positions, as Growth Management Division Director Andrew Trivette submitted his resignation letter on Wednesday.

Trivette, who has worked for the county for nearly eight years and rose from the rank of a planner to the head of a division, is leaving the Florida Keys for a similar planning job that would put him closer to his family in his home state of Virginia.

Trivette has been hired for a planning position in the southwest Virginia town of Bristol, he said. He expects to leave Monroe County by mid-September.

Trivette's departure will leave the county without someone to oversee long-term planning and zoning and other development-related issues.

The county is in the middle of several major land use rule changes that are tied to development. Growth Management staff is tweaking its comprehensive land use plan rules that deal with maintaining working waterfronts.

The county is also revamping its Tier System plan, which shows where building is allowed and prohibited. To complement the Tier System, the county wants to grant some sections of the Keys national park status, which would allow the county to obtain federal grant money to buy private property to set aside for habitat conservation.

Trivette often travels to Tallahassee and works closely with the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA), which oversees development in Monroe County. He has spoken before the Florida governor and Cabinet.

"We are going to turn over every rock in Florida looking for a quality person," Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi said. "We will start locally and across the state, and we might do a national search. We are hoping to find someone who is familiar with the DCA and with the Florida Keys. ... Drew definitely set the table and we have a great staff that will be able to help the new director along. It's definitely going to be a challenge to fill Drew's shoes."

Trivette started with the county eight years ago as a senior planning technician, in which he helped people with planning permits and reviewed the permits. He also fielded questions about state-issued Rate of Growth Ordinance units and other complicated planning issues.

He soon moved up the ladder and became a staff biologist and then on to senior administrator of environmental projects. He became Growth Management director in 2007.

"It's been quite a journey," Trivette said.

Trivette is known for his vast knowledge of complicated land use laws, as he has had to explain issues to the County Commission on numerous occasions. He and other planners spent months working with waterfront property owners and DCA planners tweaking the working waterfront comprehensive plan amendments.

He and his staff finally came up with a proposal earlier this year, only to have the commission scrap the plan and ask county planners to start over. The plan could now take several more years to complete.

The amendments and Trivette drew scrutiny when it was reported that he went on a fishing trip with one group of developers and property owners looking to redevelop Stock Island.

tohara@keysnews.com