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The City of Falls Church has named longtime employee Akida Rouzi director of its new Department of Code Administration, placing the city’s zoning administrator in charge of an effort intended to make local development processes easier to navigate.

Falls Church announced the promotion July 21. Rouzi has led the city’s Zoning Division as zoning administrator since 2023 and has worked for the city since 2013.

“I’m honored to serve in this new leadership role for the City,” Rouzi said.

The appointment continues a municipal career that has included several roles related to planning, zoning and development. Before becoming zoning administrator, Rouzi served Falls Church as a development specialist, senior planner, principal planner and deputy zoning administrator.

Her work has included assisting residents and businesses with development issues and helping with amendments to the city’s zoning ordinance. She has also served as the staff liaison to the Board of Zoning Appeals, which decides requests for zoning variances and special-use permits.

Deputy City Manager Andy Young said Rouzi’s familiarity with the city and its development procedures would help establish the new department.

“Her experience with the City’s development processes, relationships with staff and stakeholders, and can-do approach to making improvements will all help bring this new team together to assist residents and businesses in more easily navigating the development processes in the City,” Young said.

The city’s announcement did not provide details about the department’s staffing, budget, organizational structure, formal authority or implementation schedule. Young’s statement described its intended role in terms of bringing a new team together and improving how residents and businesses move through city development procedures.

Rouzi said she plans to focus on updating services, improving coordination and making code administration and permitting more responsive to customers.

“I’m grateful for the trust placed in me and excited to build on that foundation by continuing to modernize our services, strengthen collaboration, and provide responsive, customer-focused code administration and permitting services,” she said.

Rouzi holds a Master of Architecture and Urbanism from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Howard University. She also holds three credentials from the Virginia Association of Zoning Officials: Certified Zoning Administrator, Certified Zoning Official and Certified Transportation Manager.

Her selection puts an employee with more than a decade of experience in Falls Church government at the head of the new department. It also moves her from leading the Zoning Division into a broader code administration role as the city works to organize services around permitting, zoning and other development-related interactions.

The city has not yet outlined how the new department’s creation will change individual procedures for applicants or the public.