Development Services Review. Final Report. Zucker July 2016

 The Planning Permit fee schedule is currently being updated to reflect 100% full cost recovery, which is a best practice;  Staff is managing the implementation of the new GIS-based, permit tracking and data management system (e.g., TRAKiT) which is intended to streamline and ease the administration of the City’s entitlement and permit system, across multiple development-related divisions and departments, which is also a best practice.

C.

O RGANIZATION I SSUES

Data Collection/Reporting

In conducting our review of the Planning Division, we were able to obtain the bulk of data we requested related to planning application processing, business license reviews and building permit reviews, however it was not readily available in some cases. Generally, application processing that shows data corresponding to the length and number of staff reviews, applicant revision periods, and overall approval timeframes is not readily available. Nor is the data showing the number of review cycles and duration of reviews. This type of data is an important tool, which can help management better monitor, track and evaluate application-processing systems and respond to processing complaints. The new TRAKiT system should be programmed to provide all of this data. See our recommendation under the “Performance Standard” heading of this section regarding establishing performance standards for staff reviews for up to three review cycles. 91. Recommendation: The Planning Division should include data on the number and duration of staff reviews in the new TRAKiT system so that Reports can be easily generated and available for use in monitoring, tracking and evaluating staff review efforts. 92. Recommendation: The Planning Division should collect data on applicant review/revision time frames to create an accurate record of overall processing time frames in the new TRAKiT system so that Division can respond to processing delay complaints more efficiently.

Morgan Hill, California

92

Zucker Systems