The leader of Dawsonville’s planning department was recently found deceased at his home, city manager Bob Bolz announced at a public meeting earlier this week. 

Planning and Zoning Director Harmit Bedi was located Monday morning, Bolz said. 

“It was sudden and unexpected,” Bolz said during the Dawsonville Planning Commission’s Feb. 13 meeting. “It’s just an unexplained death at this point, but if y’all would keep that family in your prayers, we would appreciate it.” 

In a follow-up Feb. 15 phone call, Bolz told DCN that Bedi “was doing a fantastic job” and that city staff “got to be close with him quickly.”

“His passing definitely leaves a hole in our hearts,” Bolz said. 

Bedi’s death remains under investigation, the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office told DCN on Tuesday.

Bedi served as Dawsonville’s planning director since October of 2022. DCN obtained Bedi’s resumé through an open records act request. 

Over the past two-plus decades, Bedi held key planning positions in the Georgia cities of Grovetown, Snellville, Sandy Springs, Sugar Hill, Woodstock and Duluth and Chatham and Bryan counties, according to his resumé.

He also directed planning efforts in West Deer Township, Pennsylvania and Douglas, Wyoming. 

Bedi has been affiliated with Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University and Georgia Gwinnett College as an assistant professor, according to the biography for his 2016 book, “Smart Urban and Rural Planning Techniques.”

He earned two master’s degrees, one in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and one in city and regional planning from the Indian Institute of Technology.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.