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HomeMy WebLinkAbout15 - Development Review - Plan Checking - Planning Department OperationsCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT Agenda Item No. 15 November 28, 2006 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: City Manager's Office Sharon Wood, Assistant City Manager, 949 - 644 -3222 swood -city. newport- beach.ca. us Planning Department David Lepo, Planning Director, 949 - 644 -3285 diepo @city. newport- beach.ca. us SUBJECT:. Development Review, Plan Checking and Planning Department Operations Status Report RECOMMENDATION: Receive and file. DISCUSSION: At the study session of September 26, 2006, the City Council reviewed an evaluation of the development review and plan checking processes prepared by Hogle- Ireland, Inc., and directed staff to begin implementing its evaluations and to evaluate the need for more Planning Department staff in greater detail. On October 24, 2006, the City Council approved a professional services agreement with Hogle - Ireland, Inc. for David Lepo to serve as Interim Planning Director beginning on November 6, 2006. At that time, the City Council directed staff to provide monthly progress reports to the City Council on actions taken to improve the plan checking and permitting processes, particularly in the Planning Department. Actions taken as of November 2151 are highlighted below. Some of these actions, as well as additional actions under consideration, should improve efficiency and productivity in the Planning Department and may involve work re- assignments. We believe that our analysis of staffing needs would not be valid without considering these recent and upcoming actions. Therefore, we will present the City Council with a comprehensive plan for staffing, organizational, and procedural changes in the Planning Department on January 9, 2007. Development Review, Plan Checking and Planning Department Operations Status Report November 28, 2006 Page 2 Interdepartmental Coordination The Assistant City Manager and Directors of the Building, Planning and Public Works Departments have been meeting regularly since September 26. We have begun a more detailed discussion of recommendations in the Hogle - Ireland report, how and when they could be implemented, and what changes or resources would be needed to implement them. In addition, we have drafted performance standards for the services we provide to our customers, and will be meeting with all staff involved in the development review and plan checking processes on December 7. This will lead to several smaller group work sessions to design a process that will enable us to meet our standards, and one that will appear "seamless" to our customers, i.e., without apparent lines between departments. Planning Department Plan Checkin As of November 16th, both Associate Planners in the Current Planning section have been assigned a limited number of more complicated plan check cases, joining with the Assistant Planners and the Planning Technician to help eliminate the plan check backlog. An additional contract planner has been brought in under an existing staffing services contract to assist in this effort. On an ongoing basis, plan checking for each project reviewed by the Planning Commission will be completed by the planner who prepared the staff report for that project. This will reduce time spent researching the project background and conditions of approval by a plan checker unfamiliar with the project history. A timeline for reducing average plan check turnaround time to four weeks will be provided in the next monthly report. Potential changes in staffing assignments to improve customer service and reduce plan check turnaround times are being explored and will be presented to the City Council in January. Case Management System A plan check form in electronic format has been prepared. MIS personnel will install the plan check form in the Permits Plus system used by both Planning and Building Departments to display and monitor plan check corrections. Revised data input procedures have been prepared and are awaiting MIS installation in the Permits Plus system so that both staff and project applicants can check plan check status and plan check corrections on -line in a format similar to that used by the Building Department. These changes also will allow Planning staff to monitor progress in meeting plan check turnaround goals and identify bottlenecks in plan check procedures. Expect to see the new Permits Plus in use by the second week in December. Development Review, Plan Checking and Planning Department Operations Status Report November 28, 2006 Page 3 Zoning Code Interpretations Planners have compiled a list of Zoning Code sections subject to inconsistent interpretations and application in plan review and plan checking. Written interpretations and guidelines for applying the respective Code sections are being prepared as a means of reducing plan review and plan check processing times and producing uniform plan check results. This work is expected to be completed by the end of December. Submitted by: SHARON WOOD Assistant City Manager DAVID LEPO Planning Direct