Development Services Review. Final Report. Zucker July 2016

staff adequate review time to identify any “deal breaker issues,” as well as potential design and regulatory concerns.

Subsequent DRC meetings are only conducted when a project is required to undergo substantial revision/redesign. In addition, agendas are typically prepared for DRC meetings and are distributed in advance of the meeting. If the Division desires to inform DRC members about new projects that will be reviewed in future meetings, they can add a heading to the agenda to alert members of upcoming reviews. 142. Recommendation: Eliminate the practice of scheduling a project for DRC for introduction and only schedule new projects for a single DRC meeting within 2 weeks from submittal on or after the close of the 14-day review period. Recommendation: Create and distribute a structured agenda for DRC that lists projects to be discussed and a summary of the meeting protocol (e.g., Senior Planner will chair, assigned project planner will introduce and lead discussion, participants will attend and be prepared, etc.) and email to scheduled applicants and post it on the Department web pages. 144. Recommendation: The CDD should create an annual “DRC Schedule,” which outlines the dates that the DRC meetings are scheduled and post it on the Department web page. We also noted that application materials are routed either electronically or in paper format to DRC members depending on the complexity of the plans. Once TRAKiT is launched all applications materials should be routed electronically through the TRAKiT system to expedite the review process and reduce associated labor. 143.

145.

Recommendation: Use the TRAKiT system to route DRC materials

to participants.

Currently, Planning Commission, Council and Director-level Administratively Approved applications are required to be reviewed in a DRC meeting. We believe that Director-level approved applications should be excluded from the formal DRC meeting process, except in an unusual case, because they are routine by nature. In best practice communities, we often find that only the more complex projects are taken through DRC to facilitate streamlining objectives.

See our above recommendation to exclude Director Administrative Approvals from the formal DRC meeting process.

Morgan Hill, California

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