title
Receive an update and accept the proposed Department of Resource Management Planning Services Division’s 2019/2021 Work Plan and provide comment and direction as necessary
body
Published Notice Required? Yes ____ No _X _
Public Hearing Required? Yes ____ No _X _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of Resource Management recommends that the Board of Supervisors:
1) Receive an update and accept the Department of Resource Management Planning Services Division’s 2019/2021 Work Plan for planning related projects and reports; and
2) Provide comments and direction on the scope and priorities of the work plan as deemed necessary.
SUMMARY:
The 2019-2021 Work Plan (Attached) for the Planning Division reflects continued efforts to address General Plan implementation measures and other initiatives that have arisen in the course of carrying out the Division’s responsibilities for administering the County’s land use program. In the past year there has been increased time devoted to processing land use applications and increased activity at the public counter. This has directly affected the Division’s ability to complete other long-range planning projects. Nonetheless, the Division has been able to complete several initiatives from the current work plan, including the Vacation Rental Ordinance, the Suisun Marsh Local Protection Plan Amendments, the Rio Vista Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan, the update to the Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance per recent State legislation, final work on the Travis Sustainability Study, continued coordination with Travis on a runway expansion project, and completion of local ordinances relative to cannabis regulation. An initiative that was not on the original work plan, but a case where an opportunity arose, was the decision to join Marin Clean Energy (MCE) which furthers the County’s Climate Action Plan.
The proposed 2019/2021 Work Plan contains several items that continue from the current work plan. These include re-initiating efforts to develop a nuisance/noise ordinance, developing hillside grading and tree protection measures as called for in the General Plan, further work on implementation of the Suisun Valley Strategic Plan, and initiation of a Strategic Plan and zoning changes for the Pleasant Valley area. It also anticipates work on several new items, including the State Regional Housing Needs Assessment process and related county-wide housing issues, coordination on the county-wide 2020 census effort, updates to the County’s Priority Conservation Area (PCA) plan, a focused evaluation of the County’s Williamson Act program, and an update to the Nut Tree Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan. There are also a number on ongoing items such as implementation of the Middle Green Valley Specific Plan and continued work on the regional park district effort.
The Work Plan focuses on the efforts for FY2019/20 and FY2020/21 although it is anticipated that some projects will continue beyond FY2020/21. A projection of hours required and allocated to the various activities and projects in the Division and the staff resources necessary to carry them out is provided to assist in understanding the overall Division work flow and where there are capacities and constraints in taking on new tasks or adjusting the priority of tasks already underway.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The Planning Services Division is supported by a mix of funding sources. Approximately 13% of the Division’s cost is fee supported from the processing of land use, building permit and related applications. Specialized programs such as the 2020 Census and housing receive some funding from the State or Federal government. The County’s recycling program is fully supported by non-General Fund revenue sources. Other Division work priorities such as ordinance updates, strategic plans and other General Plan implementation measures are General Fund supported. Staff time providing the public with information at the public counter and over the phones is also General fund supported. Total General Fund support proposed for the Planning Division in Fiscal Year 2019/2020 is $1,861,421.
The costs associated with preparing the agenda item are nominal and absorbed by the department’s FY2018/19 Adopted Budget.
DISCUSSION:
Planning Services
Planning Services is one of seven operational divisions within the Department of Resource Management. The Division consists of seven (7) full time planners with specific responsibilities for overseeing land use administration in the unincorporated areas of the county, which includes the following:
• Oversee the County’s General Plan for land use and implement policy planning activities including General Plan amendments and updates, specific plan and neighborhood plans preparation, and provide staff support to special projects and functions as County liaison to other planning efforts and organizations.
• Implement zoning regulations, process subdivision maps, conduct environmental review of proposed projects, and facilitate the public review process.
• Provide technical support for various long-range and regional planning-related projects, including: The Housing Element, Solano Transportation Authority (STA) projects, the Decennial Census, and the Association of Bay Area Governments’ (ABAG’s) Regional Housing Needs Allocation and FOCUS Initiative programs which are a development and conservation strategy for the Bay area.
• Support the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission in developing land use policy and assisting in the decision-making process on land use matters.
• Provide technical and staff support to the Agriculture Advisory Committee, County Housing Authority, the Solano County Airport Land Use Commission, and Solano Open Space, formerly, Tri City - County Cooperative Planning Group.
• Manage an array of county-wide recycling programs and sustainability initiatives.
2019/2021 Work Plan
Since the General Plan’s adoption in 2008, the County has been systematically addressing implementation measures established as part of the General Plan’s adoption and has coordinated and staffed the development of several specific/master plans listed in the 2008 General Plan. The Middle Green Valley Specific Plan, the Suisun Valley Strategic Plan and the Climate Action Plan are all examples of plans that have been completed. The Work Plan for the next two fiscal years reflects a continuation of efforts to follow up on General Plan implementation measures, including the current effort to establish a regional park district and the Pleasants Valley Initiative.
In evaluating the overall capacity of the Division to initiate and deliver new projects, the amount of time necessary to complete existing projects and to respond to ongoing day to day responsibilities, such as counter contacts with the public and permit review and issuance, must be considered. The attached spreadsheet breaks out the Division workload by Special/General Plan Implementation projects, Large Entitlement projects, and ongoing activities and responsibilities in order to factor in the various existing and proposed time commitments given the division’s staffing. The spreadsheet shows a single fiscal years’ time commitment for staff. The number of hours dedicated to ongoing efforts and activities is significant. The larger entitlement requests are broken out from the more routine application processing tasks as they often span multiple fiscal years and require significant time to complete. Current examples include the Recology Hay Road expansion and the new application for the Dove Creek Ranch Subdivision.
An example of a special project not specifically listed in the General Plan but essentially mandated by changes to State Law is the County’s current effort to develop cannabis regulations. This effort has already required a significant commitment of staff hours over the past few years but should require less staff time in FY2019/20. It is anticipated there will be the need for continued commitment of staff time to monitor the ongoing changes to the Cannabis regulations at the State and Federal level.
The ordinance to address vacation rentals is an example of a project that emerged due to increased consumer interest in short term vacation homes, particularly in rural settings such as the Suisun and Middle Green Valley areas, which have generated complaints and concerns. During development of the ordinance considerable public scrutiny was received at the Planning Commission. The range of public input received included requests for prohibiting short term rentals to allowing them by right without regulatory provisions. Given trends and interests in vacation rentals, staff will re-evaluate the standards contained in County code to ensure rental units do not erode neighborhood character and to facilitate the County’s ability to collect transient occupancy tax for such units. We are now starting to see an increase in permit applications in response to the new ordinance and a consulting firm is being retained to assist with the identification of other vacation rentals who are operating without a County permit so that they may be brought into compliance with the new code.
Significant land use permit activity and entitlement requests also affect the Division’s capacity for other work. Examples of large entitlement projects include the Woodcreek69 development proposal, a major subdivision proposal in English Hills and a proposed expansion of the Hay Road Landfill. These all involve significant environmental review and staff time. Several specific plans including Middle Green Valley are now entering the implementation phase and a significant amount of staff time is anticipated to be devoted to this project. The implementation phase includes work to form a County Service area and to process initial tentative maps and development proposals within the specific plan boundaries in the next two years.
Examples of Planning Services Division responsibilities in the on-going category include the provision of services to the public and applicants seeking development entitlements or general information. The work plan contains staff time allocation and reflects a continued emphasis on improving the development permit process. This includes, among others: testing planning review of an “over-the-counter” building permit for minor building projects, enhancing customer service training, maintaining and improving a case management approach to development review permitting, improving intra- and inter-departmental coordination on permit reviews, improving communication and noticing to the public through the County web site and informational materials, and conducting periodic updates of the zoning regulations. Presently, planning staff are engaging between 50 and 95 contacts with the public each week. Also included in this ongoing category of work is time allocated to support regional planning commitments of the County including Priority Conservation Areas, monitoring mitigation for wind turbine projects, and inspection of mines under the State Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975 (SMARA) program, etc.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board of Supervisors could choose to not accept or amend the 2019/2021 Planning Services Work Plan. Such actions are not recommended as the proposed work plan reflects prior Board direction and realistic achievable levels of production given staff resources that are available and budgeted.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Accomplishment of some items in the work plan will also require staff commitment from County Counsel’s Office and other divisions within the Department. Planning Commission will also be involved.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION