Commissioner Mary Ann Gaido was first appointed to the Planning Commission just after Irvine’s incorporation. Since then, she has served on the Commission for a total of 20 years and served two terms as a City Councilmember (1976-1984).

The Planning Commission is responsible for implementing the City's General Plan and Zoning Code through the review and approval of discretionary applications for land development. These decisions are final unless appealed to the City Council. Though changes to either the City's General Plan or Zoning Code are made by the City Council, the Planning Commission makes recommendations and otherwise advises the Council in that process.

Mary Ann will supply the Commission with a depth of experience and perspective that has, to date, served Irvine very very well. Let’s keep it up. Welcome back, Mary Ann!

To learn more about the Planning Commission and keep up with its activities, visit: https://www.cityofirvine.org/community-development/planning-commission?fbclid=IwAR3aAMI5pFxHjOClKw2decmJoVcSmlUmUrPtUs-OWD_KV_lKyEJN_7wrdJ8.

About Commissioner Gaido

Former Irvine City Councilwoman, Mary Ann Gaido, who has a long and active history with the City of Irvine, will again be serving Irvine as Planning Commissioner. First appointed to the Planning Commission just after Irvine’s incorporation, Mary Ann participated in the approval of Irvine’s first General Plan. She served two terms as a City Councilwoman and returned to the Planning Commission for a total of 20 years.

A long-time resident of Turtle Rock, she is the mother of two children. She remains an active member of the Orange Coast League of Women Voters and continues social justice work with the Interfaith Community in Orange County.

Mary Ann is a retired VP of Government Relations executive at St. Joseph Health, She also worked as a Housing Specialist for the Orange County Human Relations Commission. She is a founding member of the Boards of Irvine Housing Opportunities, Jamboree Housing, the Kennedy Commission of Orange County, the Orange County Community Housing Corporation and the Orange County Affordable Housing Clearinghouse. She served as a Charter Board Member of the Irvine Barclay Theatre Operating Company.

Her national board memberships include twelve years with the National Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and four years with NETWORK, a national social justice lobby. Her efforts to create and preserve open space in Irvine have been honored with the City dedication of a plaque in the Bommer Canyon Cattle Camp. She has been honored as “Good Neighbor of the Year” by the Orange County Neighborhood Housing Services.

Mary Ann graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Rosary College (now Dominican University) in River Forest, Illinois, and has done post-graduate work in Social Ecology at UC Irvine. She completed the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.