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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 02051985 - IO.1 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra FROM: Internal Operations Committee Costa DATE: February 4, 1985 `- ou "y SUBJECT: Transportation Planning/Community Development Organization SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . Approve the establishment of an integrated planning operation in Contra Costa County to be called the Community Development Department to be organized generally along the lines of the attached organization chart which was transmitted to us by the County Administrator. 2. Direct the County Administrator to proceed with the detailed analysis necessary to determine the specific activities and personnel to be included within the new Community Development Department, and to report back to the Board with this further detailed information at a hearing to be scheduled for Tuesday, March 5, 1985, at 11 :00 A.M. The report is to be made public by February 26, 1985 and is to include comments on the cost of such a Department; areas where such a Department will be more efficient; ways in which coordination with the cities will be improved, and ways in which access and service to the public will be improved. 3. Direct the County Administrator to immediately establish job specifications for a new position of Transportation Planning Coordinator to serve as a division head within the new Community Development Depa>"tment,.and return this to the Internal . Operations Committee for consideration at its meeting on February 11 , 19,85. 4. Direct the County Administrator to solicit input from the Director of Planning, Public Works Director, and the Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee regarding whether additional transportation planning staff resources will be required in the interim period pending the hiring of the new Transportation Planning Coordinator position. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS: The establishment of a Community Development Department will facilitate management of land use/development activities. Creation of the new Department will place in one organizational unit activities related to the receipt, review and approval of applications for land use and development. The recommended organization will consolidate key County staff members into a unified development review organization. The new Department will hold one County department head responsible for all of the land use/development activities. It will also provide the public with one department to deal with on land use/development matters. Specific reasons for establishment of the proposed new Department are as follows: CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR _ RECOMMENDA ON OF BOARD COMMITTEE X APPROVER9,' "yV ?rFt",�," SIGNATURES) Tom Torlakson In Powers ACTION OF BOARD ON February 5. 1985 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED __XX OTHER Dean La Field, representing the Building Industry Association, appeared and expressed support for the concept but voiced certain reservations relative to the time frame for implementing it. Supervisor Schroder advised that he, too, endorses the concept but wanted more information before voting to approve the establishment of the Department. The Board then APPROVED the reccmendations by the vote as indicated. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AYES:T,TV,V,TT NOES: TTT AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN ABSENT: -- ABSTAIN: - AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD County Administrator OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: Public Works Director ATTESTED February 5, 1985 Planning Director Contra Costa Transp. Adv. Committee PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR M382/7-83 BY `/-.a' z! DEPUTY -2- 1 . To improve the development review process so that, to the extent possible, applicants are provided the maximum feasible amount of information regarding problems likely to be encountered with proposed projects. . In addition, applicants will be informed of all require- ments which need to be satisfied before the proposed project may be completed. 2. To minimize processing delays related to transmittals between involved departments and to facilitate joint review and analysis of development proposals. 3. To maximize the extent to which each land use/development application is managed and controlled as it moves through the development review process and to minimize, to the extent feasible, the possibility that applications may be unnecessarily delayed. 4. To ensure that land use/development applications are dealt with consistently and fairly within the parameters of existing guidelines and restrictions. 5. To improve coordination of land use planning with the cities in Contra Costa County. 6. To improve the public's access to information regarding the land use planning process, and to improve service to the public in this vital area. Inasmuch as transportation planning is an integral part of the land use/development process, it should be located, organizationally, with other land use related activities. This will facilitate land use decisions which give proper recognition to transportation concerns and mitigation measures. Implementation of a Community Development Department will require further detailed analysis. Alternative organizational structures will be reviewed to determine, specifically, what activities and personnel should be included. However, our Committee is generally supportive of the attached organizational structure, recognizing that such a dynamic organization cannot remain unchanged indefinitely. The transportation planning function is most appropriately placed in the proposed Community Development Department along with the other land use/development related activities. Job specifications must be developed and recruitment begun for a qualified person to head up the transportation planning function within the new department. This effort must be undertaken immediately in order that transportation planning efforts are not delayed. BACKGROUND: On January 8, 1985, the County Administrator presented to the Board of Supervisors a report on Organizational Issues Relating to Transportation. That report, as adopted by the Board, directed our Committee to return to the Board on February 5, 1985 with recommendations on the organizational placement, staffing, location, and financing of a proposed new Office of Transportation Planning. The report also directed the County Administrator to prepare a report on the feasibility of establishing a Community Development Department. In conjunction with the Board's action on the report on January 8, the Board directed that the report be distributed to the Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee, the cities within the County, development and environmental organizations for review and comment, particularly with respect to the issue of transportation planning. This matter has been the subject of discussion at Internal Operations Committee meetings on January 28 and February 4, 1985. Comments received to date support the Community Development Department concept. The original recommendation for establishment of an Office of Transportation Planning presented three feasible organizational placements for such office: in the Public Works Department, in the Planning Department, or in the County Administrator' s Office. Placement of the office in any one of these three departments, however, would require the establishment of appropriate coordination mechanisms to insure that adequate communications and joint planning/ review processes would be implemented among all departments concerned with -3- planning/land use/transportation issues. Further review of this issue by the County Administrator' s Office, the Internal Operations Committee, and comments received from representatives of other interested organizations have indicated that transportation planning should not be considered as an entity unto itself, but, rather, should be considered for placement in an organizational structure which includes other land use related activities. The previous report presented to the Board on January 8, 1985 indicated that on January 2, 1985 the County Administrator's staff conducted on-site visits in Orange and San Diego counties for the purpose of obtaining firsthand information on the experiences of those counties in the organization of transportation planning as well as all other land use/development activities. In order to obtain additional information on this subject, the County Administrator's staff, on January 30, 1985, made on-site visits to Alameda, Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties. It is significant that in all counties visited, land use/development activities are organizationally integrated in varying degrees. In all cases, discussion with representatives from these other jurisdictions indicated that establishment of the proposed Community Development Department is the proper direction to proceed. At our meeting on February 4, we reviewed a report from the County Administrator and made some revisions to his recommendations. This report is the result of that review. On February 4, we met with the County Administrator, Public Works Director, Director of Planning, and representatives from the Building Industry Association, the Building and Construction Trades Council , the League of Women Voters, the County Planning Commission, and the Western Council of Engineers. While a number of concerns were expressed, the general tenor of the discussion was that specific concerns and comments would have to await a detailed proposal for a Community Development Department. �It t ` � t b, > 1 � p 2 Z �O � � ©•,,, -5 L— 17 Or 4 12 02 ss 7 d� a � , � � � � ` .acyl, t� �. .d. d' v7► 3