Lake Forest Planning Official Named to Chair County Panel
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LAKE FOREST — The city’s first Planning Commission chairman is leaving to take a similar post on the Orange County Planning Commission.
Richard Goacher was appointed to the job this week by 3rd District Supervisor Todd Spitzer.
“Todd had talked to him numerous times on different issues,” said Paul Hernandez, chief of staff for Spitzer. “He’s very well-liked in the community, and there was nothing but high praise” from Lake Forest officials.
Goacher has been a planner for more than 20 years, working for the cities of Riverside and Irvine. He owns Rick Goacher/Planning Inc., an Irvine-based consulting firm.
The Lake Forest resident was appointed to the city Planning Commission shortly after Lake Forest’s incorporation in 1991. He served as chairman for the first three years and has been vice chairman since 1994.
Goacher said he is ready for the higher-profile position.
“I’ve watched this development frontier move through the county over the past couple of decades,” he said. “I understand the physical environment and the politics and everything else that has to work correctly” to make a project successful.
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