Montville―The town has hired Matthew Davis, a professional planner with nearly 40 years of experience as its new land use and development director.

He replaces Liz Burdick, who resigned in December to pursue a job as director of municipal services for the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments.

A Waterford native, Davis said Thursday that 26 of his 40 years were spent as a municipal planner in Connecticut, including as manager of planning services for the Town of Groton, where he spent six years. Before that, he had served a variety of planning jobs, including as assistant planner in Waterford for eight years.

“There’s something about having that physical and historical connection to a place that allows you to come to issues maybe with a little bit more energy, focus and dedication,” he said Thursday.

But Davis has traveled a lot, something he said has given him perspective on many topics, and helped him come up with ideas and solutions he might not have otherwise considered.

After his Waterford job, he moved with his wife to Phoenix, Ariz., to work as a consulting planner for a firm that did various planning studies for towns, most of them in the southwestern and Rocky Mountain states. He also worked in Guam, at a different consulting firm which was involved in redevelopment efforts there.

Davis said what he’s found most gratifying over the years has been the variety of his work, both for employers and clients in the public and private sectors, and across a “number of geographies throughout the country.”

“But, I’m very much tired of traveling,” he joked.

“I’m happy to be back and looking forward to working with Montville’s leadership, businesses and citizens to help them accomplish their goals,” he said.

Davis said his first few days have been spent “doing triage, learning about the status of various projects and initiatives and developing a sense of how the department will best be able to contribute.”

“Montville is positioned well to leverage its location and unique assets,” he said. “But the key to success will be to do so through a comprehensive plan that identifies a set of inter-related and mutually supportive strategic imperatives.”

d.drainville@theday.com