Development Services Review. Final Report. Zucker July 2016

includes preparing and editing the report, typically takes about 8 days to complete.

We received negative feedback from focus group participants about the staff report finalization process. Participants stated that, at times, the Director has materially changed the content of the staff report and resolution and staff recommendation without input or notice to the assigned project planner or applicant. Because finalized reports are often unavailable until the Friday afternoon before the PC hearing on Tuesday, the applicant and assigned project planner have been blindsided by the changes and left with insufficient time to resolve any issues before the meeting. Various planning staff members and other interviewees also confirmed this practice. We disagree with this practice and it is one that we have never seen in any best practice community that we have studied. The Director should not unilaterally make significant changes to staffs’ recommendation, report, resolution and DA content without first discussing the changes with the assigned project planner before the report is finalized. The project planner and director should be collaborating on staff recommendations before a report is finalized. Where the director determines that the project should not receive a positive recommendation as discussed and subsequently proposed by staff, the change should be thoroughly discussed with the assigned project planner before the report, resolution, etc., are finalized and included in the PC agenda packet. The planner should immediately contact the applicant about the director’s desired changes so that the applicant can decide whether they want to proceed or continue the project so that issues can be resolved so that the project can receive a positive recommendation, if possible. 155. Recommendation: The Community Development Director should send edited staff reports, resolutions, DA’s back to the assigned project planner to finalize, rather than finalizing the reports unilaterally, without discussion. 156. Recommendation: Where the Director finds that a positive recommendation proposed by staff can’t be supported, the Director should thoroughly discuss the issues with the assigned project planner before changing the recommendation, finalizing the report and including it in the PC agenda packet. The assigned project planner should immediately inform the

Morgan Hill, California

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