Development Services Review. Final Report. Zucker July 2016

Given that we received considerable negative feedback during our interviews about customer service and project management inconsistencies between tenured staff, newer staff and contract staff, we believe that the PPM should be updated to be used as a management tool to help train new staff and ensure that all staff have a clear and consistent understanding of work practices and performance expectations including work quality, accountability, professional demeanor, customer service and to facilitate more seamless project transitions between contract planners and regular fulltime planners. Topics should include:  Preliminary and Conceptual Planning Review processing protocols;  Planning Application processing procedures for all application types;  Project management protocols;  Design Review Committee (DRC) procedures and expected outcomes;  Record keeping and file maintenance (paper and electronic) and close-out methods;  Staff report and presentation formats and practices;  Customer service standards and communication requirements, including return email and telephone policies;  Field inspection protocols; electronic file and record keeping requirements; and  Other policies that establish performance expectations. 125. Recommendation : The Community Development Director should update the Policy & Procedures Manual for Department as described above. Zoning Code (Title 18) The City is currently comprehensively updating its Zoning Code as part of the Morgan Hill 2035 project to improve cross referencing, eliminate jargon and legalese, resolve interpretation issues, update definitions and include more tables so that the document provides a more modern format that is easier to follow, which is excellent. The City selected a consulting team led by The Planning Center | DC&E for this effort. However, some staff interviewed stated Planners are not receiving adequate updates on the progress of the project and tenured staff should be providing more input/feedback. 126. Recommendation: The Community Development Director should require the project manager for the Zoning Code update to provide regular progress updates to Division staff during weekly meetings and obtain input from tenured staff.

Morgan Hill, California

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