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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03051985 - T.2 J THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA DATE: March 5, 1985 MATTER OF RECORD SUBJECT: Establishment of Community Development Department The Board this day considered the recommendation of the County Administrator with respect to the proposed establishment of a Community Development Department and in connection therewith the following persons appeared: Beverly Ortiz, 1778 Sunnyvale Avenue, Walnut Creek, representing Citizens to Save our Local Creeks, favored formation of the department, but suggested it also include the flood control department. Don Christen, CCC Taxpayers Association, favored Alternative B of the County Administrator's recommendation. Kellie Lin Anderson, 283 Oak Park Lane, Pleasant Hill , favored formation of the Department and suggested including flood control . Dean LaField, Building Industry Association of Northern California, favored only phase 1 at this time, suggesting an ombudsman or permit coordinator to help guide unfamiliar users through the permit process.' Leslie Stewart, League of Women Voters of Diablo Valley, reviewed the issues considered by LURPAG when it was considering this question, and urged that a central permit bureau be staffed by someone very sensitive to the public. David Nesmith, representing Urban Creeks Task Force of the Sierra Club, favored including flood control planning in .the Community Development Department. The Board considered the aforesaid testimony and the recommendations contained in the County Administrator's report and adopted the following order: TO: ` BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Phil Batchelor, Contra FROM: County Administrator COStd DATE: February 26, 1985 County SUBJECT: Community Development Department SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS 1 . The Board has previously approved the conceptual establish- ment of a Community Development Department to facilitate management of land use/development functions by placing them in one organizational entity. Such action will provide for more efficient development application review/processing and will improve access by and service to the public in land development matters. A. If it is the Board' s desire to create a Community Development Department which initially includes a comprehensive planning function, it is recommended that the following organizational alternative be approved. Organizationally combine the following functions which relate to compre- hensive planning: Transportation Planning Land Use Planning Solid Waste Planning Redevelopment Community Development Block Grant Program County Water Agency Population and Economic Analyses The alternative would place together all activities related to receiving, reviewing and conditionally approving land development applications and can be accomplished by May 1 , 1985. At some time in the future the Board may wish to expand the functions of the Community Development Department to include those indicated in Alter- native B below. B. If it is the Board' s desire to create a Community Development Department which includes comprehensive planning as well as plan checking and field inspection activities, it is recommended that the following organizational alternative be approved, in a phased approach. Organizationally combine in the Community Development Department all functions related to the development process. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S) V-'j ACTION OF BOARD ON APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER --X APPROVED recommendation 1A, REFERRED recommendation 1B, phases II and III, to the Internal Operations Committee requesting status report on Phase II on June 1, 1985 and a status report on Phase III on December 1, 1985. APPROVED recommendations 2 and 3. REFERRED recommendation 4 to Internal Operations Committee, along with the concept of an ombudsman, and also REQUESTED the Internal Operations Committee to explore whether the flood control planning and engineering division should be included in the Community Development Department, with a status report VOTE OF SUPERVISORS on that due July 1, 1985. _ UNANIMOUS (ABSENT III ) I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AYES: NOES: AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN ABSENT: ABSTAIN: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON MAR DATE SHOWN. ,cc: �ount� AdW� jtrator �11AR C �ln� irec or o anning ATTESTED 5 "_�� Public Works Director County Counsel PHIL BATCHELOR, CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Building Inspection SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR CTACC - Terri Bowen Dean La.Field, Building Industries r� M382/7-98 BY DEPUTY 2. Phase I : Combine the following functions which relate to comprehensive planning: Transportation Planning Land Use Planning Solid Waste Planning Redevelopment Community Development Block Grant Program County Water Agency Population and Economic Analyses This phase is to be accomplished by May 1 , 1985. Phase II : Reassign the Map and Improvement Plan Checking and the Field Inspection functions from the Public Works Department to the Community Development Department. This phase is to be accomplished by August 1 , 1985 . Phase III : Reassign all functions of the Building Inspection Department to the Community Development Department. This phase is to be accomplished by February 1 , 1986. This alternative would result in creation of a Community Development Department which would include the full range of land use/development functions from initial receipt of an application to final inspection of constructed improvements. 1 . Direct the County Administrator and Director of Personnel to prepare and submit to the Board on March 19 , 1985 the necessary documents to establish the position of Director of Community Development, said position to be exempt from the Merit System. 3 . Direct the County Administrator to present to the Board on April 9, 1985 all actions necessary to be taken by the Board to implement the Community Development Department effective May 1 , 1985. 4 . Direct the County Administrator to work with all appropriate agencies to establish a Central Permit Counter, as soon as feasible, by co-locating application review/permit issuing staff of the Community Development Department and other appropriate agencies. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendation No. 1. A. This recommendation recognizes the need for better coordination among the various aspects of comprehensive planning. Responsibility for these various aspects, such as Transportation Planning, Land Use Planning, Solid Waste Planning, etc. , is currently scattered. ' Establishment of a compre- hensive planning function will provide for overall direction and better utilization of existing planning resources. Communications will be improved among the staff involved in the receipt, review and approval of land use applications. Recommendation No. 1. B. The consolidation of all development related functions , including plan checking and field inspection, has the advantage of placing the entire range of land development activities under one administrative entity. This will allow for better overall direction and control of the development process from initial receipt of an application to final inspection of improvements. Such an organizational arrangement would allow for more consistency in the application of policies and standards and allow for the 3 . reassignment of staff to meet workload demands among the various parts of the land development process. The ability to share data and reduce duplication of staff effort and files would be enchanted. Recommendation Nos. 2 and 3 The necessary steps to establish the Director of Community Development position and to process all required personnel, budget and ordinance documents should be taken as soon as possible in order that the new department may be implemented by May 1 , 1985. Recommendation No. 4 Creation of a Central Permit Counter will facilitate the application review process and improve public access to the land development process. Major counties including San Diego, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Clara, Riverside, and Sacramento have established central permit operations and found it to be advantageous to both staff and clientele. The co-location of permit staff quickens application review and helps applicants obtain information and assistance on various permit requirements. In general, creation of a Community Development Department will improve working relationships with other entities, such as cities, in that land use/development matters will be consolidated in one administrative entity. Matters related to land use, land development, transportation, and environ- mental planning will be overseen by one department head with whom other jurisdictions may relate. Such consolidation of services will also improve access and service to the public by providing one department with whom the public must deal regarding these types of issues. At the present time, these various services are split between the Planning and Public Works Departments. It should be noted in this regard that Section 65913.3 of the Government Code states as follows: "Every city, county, or city and county shall provide for coordination of review and decision making and the provision of information regarding the status of ail applications and permits for residential, commercial, and industrial developments, as required by such city, county, or city and county, by a single adminis- trative entity. The city, county, or city and county may charge fees to defray costs which are directly attributable to the coordination of an application of a developer by a single administrative entity. " Board Resolution No. 82/1478 dated December 14, 1982 , designated the County Planning Department to serve as the administrative entity responsible for being the central source of development information. Formation of the new Community Development' Department will facilitate the provision of such information inasmuch as it will bring together two of the departments having such data. BACKGROUND On February 5 , 1985 the Board of Supervisors approved the establishment of the Community Development Department and directed the County Administrator to proceed with the detailed analysis necessary to determine the specific activities and personnel to be included within such department. In conjunction with the aforementioned action, the Board also directed the County Administrator to establish job specifications for a new position of Transportation Planning Coordinator to serve as a division head within the new Community Development Department. The job specifications and proposed salary have been developed and were submitted to the Internal Operations Committee on February 11 , 1985. The committee has the staff recommenda- tions under consideration and will report to the Board on this matter on March 5 , 1985 in conjunction with the public hearing to be held on this report. Staff of the County Administrator ' s Office have discussed the proposed Community Development Department with the Director of Planning and Public Works Director inasmuch as these are the two departments to be immediately 4. impacted by the formation of the new department. Meetings with the Public Works Director included the heads of those divisions wherein some or all of the division' s activities and related personnel were being considered for reassignment to the new department. The purpose of the discussions was to determine which of the activities currently performed by the departments would be appropriate for inclusion in the Community Development Department realizing that the new department is to include activities related to the review, processing and approval of land use/development applications and the necessary support services related to such activities. Over the last couple of months, staff of the County Administrator' s Office have made on-site visits to five other counties in order to learn first hand about the experiences of these other jurisdictions with regard to the organizational placement of land use/development/transportation activities. It was found that organizational arrangements vary from the "traditional" county departments to "super-agencies" which include the functions of several major county departments. For example, Orange County has an Environmental Management Agency which includes all of the functions of housing and community development, transportation, planning, building inspection, and public works. San Diego County has tried various organiza- tional structures and currently has the traditional county departments but with a central permit operation. San Mateo County has a Public Works Department whose functions include road maintenance, airports, solid waste and flood control, and has an environmental department which includes, among other things, Building Inspection and Planning activities. Land development review is performed by the Planning Department. Santa Clara County has a Department of Planning and Development which includes the function of County Surveyor, Building Inspection, Planning, and Central Permit Office. Alameda County has an organizational structure similar to Contra Costa' s, except that Buliding Inspection is a division of the Public Works Department. Although the organizational structure of land use/development activities varies among counties, a "common thread" which appeared in discussions with staff of the all the counties was the need for improving the interfacing of county staff involved in the receipt, review and approval of land develop- ment applications to insure better coordination and input by all involved parties. The merging of land use/development related activities has occurred in several of these counties and has proven very beneficial in terms of improving the development review process and in providing better service to the public. Organizational change is made in order to establish an environment within which processes can be carried out and decisions made in a more efficient manner. All organizations are changed as a result of demands to respond to changing circumstances. Other jurisdictions have undergone organizational changes in the land use/development area in order to accommodate the forces requiring change. The surging growth and accompanying problems of land use/transportation, environmental concerns, etc. makes this the opportune time for creating a Community Development Department to respond to the demands being placed on the County to be responsive and provide more aggressive leadership in the use and development of land and the provision of transportation and environmental services related thereto. It must be pointed out that the Public Works Department, at the present time, is constituted more as an "agency" than a typical Public Works Department. The department currently includes the traditional Public Works functions of road maintenance and flood control activities but also includes other functions , not always typical of a Public Works Department, such as Buildings and Grounds Maintenance and Fleet Services activities (often found in a General Services Department) , Airport Management, Transportation Planning, Land Development and Environmental Control activities (which are organizationally placed in a variety of locations in other jurisdictions) . Formation of the Community Development Department will involve reassignment from the Public Work of certain land use/development activities which are not necessarily typical Public Works Department functions. 5. The following is a discussion of the functions currently performed by the Planning and Public Works Departments which are recommended to be included within the new Community Development Department. PLANNING DEPARTMENT The basic goal of the Planning Department is to provide county residents with a suitable and attractive environment in which to live and work. The major objectives of the department are to ( 1) maintain a process of long range planning to facilitate the adoption of development, community facili- ties, and environmental policies, and ( 2 ) regulate the use of land in accordance with the adopted policies of the county and pursuant to local, State and Federal laws. Virtually all of the activities performed by the Planning Department are mandated by the State Planning and Zoning Law. Section 65100 of the Government Code states in part, "There is in each city and county a planning agency with the powers necessary to carry out the purposes of this title. The legislative body of each city and county shall by ordinance assign the functions of the planning agency to a planning department, one or more planning commissions, administrative bodies or hearing officers, the legislative body itself , or any combination thereof, as it deems appropriate and necessary. In the absence of an assignment, the legislative body shall carry out all the functions of the planning agency. " Section 26-2 . 202 of the County Ordinance Code establishes the Contra Costa County Planning Agency consisting of the Board of Supervisors, the Planning Commission, the Planning Department, the Board of Appeals, Zoning Administrator, the Advisory Agency, and the Area Planning Commis- sions. Furthermore, Section 65300 of the Government Code requires the Planning Agency of the county to prepare, and the legislative body to adopt, a long term general plan for the physical development of the county. The principal regulations to put the general plan into effect are the Subdivision Ordinance and the Zoning Ordinance. The Subdivision Ordinance is mandated and although the Zoning Ordinance is technically optional, the Zoning Ordinance is the only practical regulation available to put the general plan into effect. All of the functions performed by the Planning Department are related to regulation of the development and use of land, development of long range policy planning, the development and evaluation of demographic and environ- mental and economic data, and administration of the Community Development Block Grant Program. It is appropriate, and thus recommended, that all functions and staff of the current Planning Department be reassigned to the new Community Development Department. For the 1984-1985 fiscal year the County Planning Department has a gross budget of $1,707 ,489. Expenditure transfer credits in the amount of $316 ,060 and revenue in the amount of $693 , 540 results in a net cost of $697 ,889. The net cost of the Planning Department is a charge against the County General Fund. The Planning Department also administers two special programs having their own separate budgets. The Planning Projects budget (Budget Unit 0358 ) provides funds for the preparation of Environmental Impact Reports For the 1984-1985 fiscal year the cost of this program is budgeted at $291 , 186. The total cost of this budget is offset by charges to development applicants. The department also administers the Community Development Program (Budget Unit 0590) which for the 1984-1985 fiscal year has a total administrative cost of $301 ,000. This cost is totally financed with Federal CDBG funds. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Land Development Division This division of the Public Works Department consists of engineering staff responsible for reviewing development applications to assure their conformance with county engineering standards as set forth in County policies and ordinance code requirements. The applicable ordinance code 6. requirements are set forth in Title 9, Subdivisions, and Title 10, Public Works and Flood Control. After review of a development application, the Land Development Division staff prepares conditions of approval on the engineering aspects of the proposed development including roads, drainage, and, possibly, sanitation items. The conditions are forwarded to the County Planning Department for presentation to the Zoning Administrator or Planning Commission, as appropriate. Once a development application is approved, the developer must file a parcel (for minor subdivisions) or a final (for major subdivions) map. The maps are checked by the staff of the Land Development Division to assure conformance with Stae law and the tentative maps. Other kinds of activi- ties are performed in the Land Development Division including the drawing of right-of-way maps, lot line adjustments, assessment segregations, and county survey functions including the maintenance of corner records (historical land division lines) and records of survey. Final development maps must be signed by the County Surveyor (a registered engineer) . The division also includes an engineer position who serves as the issuer of various permits including permits for house moves, oversize loads, road encroachments, road closures, drainage, and sewer permits. Other functions performed by the Land Development Division includes the provision of staff services to the Condemnation and Assessment Districts Screening Committees. The Land Development Division is the "heart" of the Public Works Depart- ment ' s involvement in the land use/development process. Development applications are reviewed, conditions of approval are established, and records maintained. Staff of the Land Development Division and the County Planning Department work closely together in jointly reviewing development applications and determining appropriate conditions of approval. Plans and specifications developed by the Land Development Division are forwarded to the Design and Construction Division of the department where field inspectors insure that the standards and specifications as set forth by the Land Development Division are, in fact, met. The inspectors inspect public improvements, mainly road and drainage facilities, to insure compliance with development conditions. The activities and related staff to be reassigned from the Land Development Division to the Community Development Department depends on the organiza- tional alternative chosen by the Board. For the 1984-1985 fiscal year, the Land Development Division has a total program budget (all Public Works Department costs charged to the Land Development program) of about $1 , 400,000 with projected revenues of $970,000 leaving a net cost of about $430,000. At the present time, this . net cost is financed with Road Fund ( i.e. , non-General Fund) money. Road Fund money may continue to be used for this purpose even though the Land Development Division is reassigned to the new Community Development Depart- ment. In this connection, however, existing Land Development fees should be adjusted in order that reliance on other than fee generated revenue may be minimized. Transportation Planning Division This division consists of two sections: Advanced Planning and Project Development. The Advanced Planning section has four major functional areas: 1. Countywide Advanced Planning. This includes staff support to the Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee and to Metropolitan Transportation Commission Regional Studies. 2 . Sub-area Advanced Planning. This involves sub-area traffic studies and the staffing of various local task forces related to traffic and transportation issues. 7. 3 . Current Development. This includes Environmental Impact reviews related to traffic circulation, review of regional impact of proposed developments, study of immediate area traffic impacts, the development of proposed conditions on development applications, and coordination of transportation system management activities such as working with Bishop Ranch and the Pleasant Hill BART Station Project. 4. Implementation Strategy for Road Improvement. This involves the review of proposed fee areas and the development of means of funding road construction and maintenance costs. The Program Development section includes activities such as project devel- opment (the development of grant applications and community support for road projects) , road alignment studies, road requirements for airport development, liaison with CALTRANS on State projects, road abandonments , pavement management system, and development of the Road Fund budget. Other activities include the undergrounding of utilities, assessment district feasibility studies and the updating of county design standards. These various activities are related directly to roads and road projects. It is recommended that the functions and staff of the Advanced Planning section of the Transportation Planning Division be reassigned to the Community Development Department. The Program Development section of the division should remain with the Public Works Department inasmuch as the activities of this section are related directly to road projects. For the 1984-1985 fiscal year, the cost of the Transportation Planning Division is about $595, 000. Most of the division' s cost is charged to the Road Maintenance program leaving a net cost to the division of. only $36, 000. The Advanced Planning staff represents about one-half of the total division. Environmental Control Division This division performs three major activities: Solid Waste Planning, County Water Agency and Sewer System Maintenance. In regards to Solid Waste Planning, the staff of this division serve as staff to the County Solid Waste Advisory Commission. The Commission has responsibility for developing and recommending to the Board of Supervisors a County Solid Waste Management Plan. A significant amount of staff time is spent in support of the Commission' s activities. Recently, staff have also devoted a significant amount of time to the County/Central Contra Costa Sanitary District landfill siting study. Staff of this division also support the Board of Supervisors Recycling Committee, administers the contract for. operation of the Contra Costa Community Recycling Center, and manages the County' s white office paper recycling program. Other items with which the division staff has been involved include review of proposed waste-to-energy projects and development of the County' s mandatory garbage collection ordinance. The County Water Agency is a County property tax support activity. The Board of Supervisors serves as the County Water Agency. The Board has appointed a Water Committee which meets on' a monthly basis. The Committee is provided with staff support from the Environmental Control Division. Staff support is also provided to the Fish and Wildlife Committee which is appointed by the Water Committee. In addition, staff time is devoted to the Water Policy Concensus Committee. This is a committee consisting of representatives from the 12 Delta counties whose purpose is to foster and develop a unified water policy among these jurisdictions. Staff also devotes time to such activities as monitoring State water legislation, monitoring studies by the East Bay Municipal Utility District, water conservation program, San Luis Drain, water hyacinth program, and the Delta Advisory Planning Council. Staff also provide general sewer planning 8. services. This involves staff time devoted to water, sewer and other environmental issues where no other agency in the County has jurisdiction and no other funding is available. Services performed include review and comment on environmental documents, plans, project reports, proposed regulations and legislation, preparation of feasibility reports and prelim- inary plans, attendance at public and staff meetings, and provision of information as requested by the Board or other agencies. All of the foregoing activities involve staff time devoted to planning and coordination in the fields of solid waste and water. These functions are appropriate for reassignment to the new Community Development Department. The Environmental Control Division also provides sanitary services via the operation of water treatment plants. Services are provided through admin- istration of sanitary districts. Field personnel provide for the actual operation of the sanitary treatment facilities and some engineering support is provided by office staff . Inasmuch as sanitary services involves the actual operation of treatment plants, it is recommended that this service remain with the Public Works Department and become part of the Road Mainte- nance Division. It is recommended that all staff of the Environmental Control Division be reassigned to the new Community Development Department, except for the staff performing sanitary services functions. As indicated above, the County Water Agency is supported with a property tax levy. For the 1984-1985 fiscal year, the total budget for the Water Agency is $142 ,700. The Solid Waste Management activities are supported with funds derived from solid waste disposal fees levied on landfill operators. It is estimated that about $142, 000 will be realized from this revenue source for the 1984-1985 fiscal year. The general sewer planning function, budgeted at $30,000 for the 1984-1985 fiscal year, is financed totally with County General Fund monies. BUILDING INSPECTION DEPARTMENT The Building Inspection Department protects public health and safety by regulating building construction in the unincorporated areas and, via contracts, in certain cities. All residential and commercial construction is inspected to assure conformance with applicable State statutes and County ordinances. The department is also responsible for administration of the County Grading Ordinance which involves the review of grading plans, the issuance of permits and inspection of work to determine that proper slope and drainage requirements have been met. The department investigates complaints of possible State law or County ordinance violations. The duties of this department have increased from the original concept of enforcement of building regulations only to enforcement of other regula- tions which cover such matters as energy conservation, soils and grading, mobilehomes, and solar installations. The department is required to administer and enforce several programs mandated by State law. Health and Safety Code Section 17960 requires the building department in every city or county to enforce, within its juris- diction, all the provisions published in the State Building Standards Code, applicable sections of the Health and Safety Code, and all other rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the latter Code pertaining to the erection, construction, reconstruction, movement, enlargement, conversion, alteration, repair, removal, demolition, or arrangement of apartment houses, hotels, or dwellings. All functions and staff of the Building Inspection Department should be reassigned to the Community Development Department if it is determined that the latter should include plan checking and field inspection services. All costs of the Building Inspection Department are offset by permit fees. 9. Ultimately physical relocation of Community Development Department activi- ties will occur. Space needs for combining the various functions of the new department can be accommodated in the North Wing of the County Adminis- tration Building. The Board' s recent decision to approve relocation of the Sheriff"s Patrol, Investigation and Communication Division to new space near the Juvenile Hall will result in vacating the entire 2nd Floor of the North Wing. This project will require approximately 18 to 24 months. Until such space is available, the office of the County Administrator will review alternatives for interim arrangements.