HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 08061991 - IO.4 I.O.-4
TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
............. Contra
FROM:
INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
Costa
yAf..f.. .,_ ,'•:tea
July 22, 19 91 County,
DATE: rTl-i 6Unt
SUBJECT: REPORT ON THE RESPECT IVE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE
COUNTY PLANNING CONESSION AND REGIONAL PLANNING COMISSIONS
SPECIFIC REOUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)A BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMEMATI ONS:
1. Direct County Counsel, in consultation with the Community
Development Director and Director, Growth Management &
Economic Development Agency, to prepare and return to the
Board of Supervisors by a date certain, ordinances or other
appropriate documents which will accomplish the following
changes in the role and responsibilities of the County
Planning Commission and Regional Planning Commissions,
consistent with the attached memorandum from the Community
Development Director:
A. Fix the size of all three Commissions at seven (7 )
members each.
B. Allow for the inclusion of an appropriate number of
non-voting representatives of cities on each
Commission.
C. Provide that requests for entitlements which generate
100 or more peak hour trips will be referred to the
appropriate Commission, whereas requests which generate
less than 100 peak hour trips will be delegated to the
Zoning Administrator.
D. Provide that each Commission shall be charged with the
responsibility to advise the Board of Supervisors on
the implementation of the Growth Management Element of
the General Plan and other appropriate policy issues.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENIYeS YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATIONOF COUN RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE '
APPROVE O
SIGNATURE(S): DER SUNNI WRIGHT MCPEAR
ACTION OF BOARD ON August—6-1 = APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
Board members discussed the above recommendations in great detail and approved with
the following amendments:
1. Recommendation B is eliminated and, instead, the Board requests discussions be
arranged with the cities relative to ex-officio members from the county on city
commissions and from the city on the county commissions.
2. The Director of community Development is requested to send copies of this report
to each city and to unincorporated various advisory groups, the League of women
Voters, the Building Industry Association and the Citizen's Land Alliance.
3. Requested that a workshop be arranged between the planning commissions, the
zoning administrator and staff to discuss jurisdiction and procedures.
Supervisor Fanden advised that she was abstaining from voting because the League of
Women Voters would like to have a voice in this, and had not had an opportunity to
review the proposed ordinance prior to it coming to the Board
and because she had not really had an opportun�nity to review the matter.
cel%X"I11-T IHAT 7MISRiATRUE
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT- AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: UT. � T T NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: � OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
CC: County Administrator ATTESTED
PHIL BATCHELOR,4ERK OF THE BOARD OF
Director, G.M. & E.D. Agency
Community Development Director SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
County Counsel
M382 (10/88)
BY -- ,DEPUTY
I .O.-4
2. Request the Community Development Director to ask each city
in the County to share with the County major projects which
are being processed by the city, but which have a
significant impact on the unincorporated area of the County.
3 . Request the Director, Growth Management and Economic
Development Agency and Community Development Director to
recommend to the Board of Supervisors ways in which the
County can improve the dialogue with the cities regarding
planning issues which are of mutual concern.
4. Request the Community Development Director to recommend to
the Board ways in which the Board can achieve better
integration of planning to insure that all of the policies-
in the General Plan are complied with, such as the landscape
requirements and child care requirements.
. 5. Request the Community Development .Director to forward copies
of this report to each city in the County, each municipal
advisory council in the County, and each association
representing unincorporated areas such as the Alamo
Improvement Association, advising them when the Board of
Supervisors will conduct the public hearing on the necessary
ordinances noted above.
6. Effective immediately, the policy of the Board in regard to
appointments to the various Planning Commissions should be
as follows:
A. For the County Planning Commission, the appointments
made by individual Board Members will continue to be
forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for appointment.
Applications for the two at-large seats will continue
to be forwarded to the Internal Operations Commission
for their review and screening. The Internal
Operations Committee will provide a recommendation to
the Board of Supervisors for the Board' s consideration.
B. For the Regional Planning Commissions, the Supervisor
of the District over which the Regional Planning
Commission has major jurisdiction (the Third District
Supervisor in the case of the San Ramon Valley Regional
Planning Commission and the Fifth District Supervisor
in the case of the East County Regional Planning
Commission) will recruit applicants as he or she sees
fit and will forward his or her recommendations to the
Internal Operations Committee along with a list of the
name, address and occupation of each applicant.
7. Acknowledge that many of the concerns of City-County
planning coordination have been fulfilled through the
regional agencies of the Transportation Authority.
8. Remove this item as a referral to our Committee, except for
the purpose of reviewing nominations to the Planning
Commissions as is reflected above.
BACKGROUND:
On March 5, 1991, the Board of Supervisors referred to our
Committee a request from Supervisor Powers that our Committee
review the respective roles and responsibilities of the County
Planning Commission and Regional Planning Commissions and make
recommendations to the Board.
Af
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On July 22, 1991 our Committee met with the Chairman of the East
County Regional Planning Commission, Director of the Growth
Management and Economic Development Agency, the Community
Development Director, Dennis Barry from the Community Development
Department and Supervisor Torlakson, who was present, but did not
participate in the discussion until our Committee' s
recommendations were formulated.
We received and reviewed the attached report from the Community
Development Director summarizing the experience of the last five
years, we have formulated the above recommendations. We believe
that the County should closely coordinate with the cities in the
area of land use planning. ' The County should closely monitor
and be involved in projects which, while they may be within the
jurisdiction of the city, are likely to have a significant impact
on the unincorporated area neighboring the area and the County
should reciprocate with City seats on county seats on the City
Planning Commission as originally intended.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
TO: Internal Operations Committee ATE: July 17, 1991
FROM: Harvey E. Bragdon
Community Development Dir
SUBJECT: Report on Planning A y ruct a d unction
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
RECOMMENDATION:
Direct the preparation of specific ordinance amendments reflecting the
Planning Agency structure and function of the concept outlined below.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
Efficiencies could result in reduced costs, although a shift in resources
toward staff support for the commissions would moderate the savings.
BACKGROUND:
In response to the Board of Supervisors' 'direction of March 5, 1991, we
have reviewed the current structure and functions of the County and
Regional Planning Commissions and conclude that they are inseparable
parts of the Planning Agency. (See G.C. 65103) This report therefore
evaluates the structure and function of other divisions of the Planning
Agency along with the commissions. The County Planning Agency is composed
of the Board of Supervisors, the County and Regional Planning
Commissions, the Zoning Administrator and the Community Development
Department. (See Ord. Code 26-2.202)
The planning function is generally divided into advance (long range) and
current divisions for administrative purposes. Advance addresses policy
matters; current, development project proposals. The existing structure
focuses the planning commissions attention on development projects in
minute detail , implying a function as "Zoning Commission". A more
balanced approach to the ratio of advance to current planning activities
by the commissions could be achieved by increasing the responsibilities
of the Zoning Administrator and involving the Commissions to a greater
degree in the development of long range policy.
The Growth Management Element of the General Plan provides an appropriate
administrative yardstick for elevating a request for entitlement to the
Planning Commission by requiring special consideration of projects
' generating 100 or more peak hour trips. Applied to the current project
status report, this criterion could shift 27% of the major subdivisions
heard by the Commissions to the Zoning Administrator. It should be noted
that currently, 38% of subdivision requests are associated with P-1
rezoning requests; of these just under one-half produce 99 or fewer
trips.
In terms of long range planning, the commissions could best advise the
Board if they are actively involved in the implementation of the Growth
Management Element, in terms of the annual and five year reviews required
by the element. This implies a good deal of attention to the data
collection and analysis upon which the growth management determinations
are to be based. I"t would also prepare the commissions for the five year
review, in which amendments to the General Plan Growth Management
Standards, save traffic level of service, may be recommended.
Under this concept, the planning commissions would each be composed of
seven members; with an appropriate number of ex officio city
. representatives. Meeting once per month, with bi-monthly study sessions,
the commissions would hear general plan amendments, mandatory referrals,
rezonings, and Development Plans and Major Subdivisions exceeding 100
peak trips, and would advise the Board on economic development matters.
T=h ey would continue to hear appeals from the Zoning Administrator's
decisions. Hearings on Environmental Impact Reports would continue to be
set by the Community Development Director to the appropriate division of
the Planning Agency.
cc: Supervisor Fanden
Supervisor Torlakson
Supervisor Powers
County Administrator
County Counsel
Director, GMEDA