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Development Oversight Commission
Meeting Minutes for August 4, 2008

Commission Members

City Staff
William Thomas, Director, Development Services
Sabina Gilbert, Deputy City Attorney
Janis Franklin, Program Specialist

The Development Oversight Commission (DOC) is a commission of the City Council with review and recommendation authority. Its purpose is to provide a forum for the public to introduce and discuss suggestions, comments, and concerns regarding the City's Development Services function. The DOC will host public meetings to hear public comments before providing its recommendations to City Council.

Notice to the Public

You are welcomed and encouraged to participate in this meeting.  Public comment is taken (3 minutes maximum) on items listed on the agenda when they are called.  Public comment on items not listed on the agenda will be heard at the end of the meeting as noted on the agenda. Comments on controversial items may be limited and large groups are encouraged to select 3-5 speakers to represent the opinion of the group.

Notice to Lobbyists: When addressing the Commission you must identify yourself as a lobbyist and announce the client/business/organization you are representing (City Code 2.15.160).

Speaker slips are located in the lobby of the hearing room and should be completed and submitted to the Commission Secretary.

Government Code 54950 (The Brown Act) requires that a brief description of each item to be transacted or discussed be posted at least 72 hours prior to a regular meeting.  The City posts Agendas at City Hall as well as offsite meeting locations.

The order of agenda items is for reference; agenda items may be taken in any order deemed appropriate by the Commission.  The agenda provides a general description and staff recommendations; however, the Commission may take action other than what is recommended.  The agenda is available for public review on the Wednesday prior to the meeting.  Hard copies of the agenda, synopsis, and staff reports are available from the Development Services Department at 300 Richards Boulevard, 3rd Floor (.25 cents per page) , during regular business hours or can be downloaded at www.cityofsacramento.org/dsd.

Meeting facilities are accessible to persons with disabilities.  If you require special assistance to participate in the meeting, notify the Development Services Department at (916) 808-5908 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.

Minutes

All items listed are heard and acted upon by the Development Oversight Commission unless otherwise noted.

Call to Order – 5:30 p.m.

Roll Call - Began at 5:30 PM.  All present except McBurney (late), Packowski (late), Guerra (absent).

Consent Calendar

All items listed under the Consent Calendar are considered and acted upon by one motion.  Anyone may request that an item be removed for separate consideration.

1. Approval of Minutes for July 7, 2008
   Location: Citywide
   Recommendation: Approve Commission Minutes for July 7, 2008.
   Contact: Janis Franklin, Program Specialist, (916) 808-7705
   
   Action:  Moved, seconded and carried (Holloway, Fuerst, 6, 0, 0) to approve minutes.
   

Staff Reports

Staff reports include oral presentations including those recommending receive and file.

2. Director Update - Activities of the Development Services Department (Oral)
   Location:      Citywide
   Recommendation: Receive and comment on Budget, MATRIX, Communications Teams, and Strategic Objectives
   Contact: Ryan Pham, Support Services Manager, (916) 808-2278; Janis Franklin, Program Specialist, (916) 808-7705
   
   Action:  Ryan Pham presented an update regarding the budget status, stating that the City was in the process of an end of the year review.  He reviewed statistics regarding labor, services and supplies, inter-department reimbursements, external revenue and stated that the numbers may change based on end of the year processing.  He stated that he will have an update regarding Fund 790 at the next meeting.  Commissioner Fuerst asked how Accela figured into the budget, and Ryan answered that Accela was a tool to collect the revenue, and was translated into a financial system, ECaps.  Commissioner Nunan asked about the revised budget figures vs. the original projections.  Commissioner Valine asked about the revenue budget for the new fiscal year.  Ryan stated that he will return in three months with a more realistic revenue projection.  He also reported to the DOC about returning to the basics of MATRIX, including reviewing the operating principles, measures of success and core services.  Ryan added that Bill Thomas will be attending all staff meetings to carry the message.  Commissioner Valine asked if employees had a safe environment to express concerns.  Ryan answered with details regarding the new communications teams, that included a change in meeting structure, that include a Division Manager Team, an Idea Team, an Operations Team and finally an Ambassador Group.  He added that we are in the process of chartering all teams.  Commissioner Valine recommended that the Ambassador Group should be randomly selected from employees in good standing.  Janis Franklin updated the DOC regarding the DSD Strategic Action Plan for fiscal year 08/09.  She stated that the department was still in the process of assigning tasks.  Commissioner Valine asked to have the plan color coordinated to green, yellow and red to denote on-schedule status.  He added that measurements should be in place for each item.  Commissioner Fuerst and Commissioner McBurney asked about the prioritization of the items on the list.  Commissioner Holloway asked about an item on the plan, #30, and Janis indicated she would get a report back regarding this item
   
   Attachment:
   DSD Strategic Action Plan 08-09
   
   

3. Measure A Impact Fee- Mitigation Fee Program Implementation Ordinance and Fee
   Location:  Citywide
   Recommendation:  Review and Comment
   Contact: Azadeh Doherty, Principal Planner, (916) 808-3137
   
   Action:  Azadeh Doherty presented information regarding the transportation mitigation development impact fee program, a companion fee to the Measure A Impact fee, that was overwhelmingly approved by the voters.  The administering body, STA (Sacramento Transportation Authority) will access fees on specific land uses.  She indicated the next steps are to implement the fee program through an ordinance, and would be presented to Council between now and December, and would be implemented in April 2009.  Commissioner Schriefer asked how the types of projects were selected, and Azadeh answered that the project types were contained in the ballot measure.  Commissioner Holloway asked about the timing of the fee collection, and Azadeh answered the collection would be at time of building permit.  Commissioner McBurney asked about the public outreach prior to fee collection.  Commissioner Valine agreed that there should be some educational outreach to the public prior to implementation.
   
   
4. Ombudsman- Report Back on Customer Inquiry Process (Oral)
   Location:      Citywide
   Recommendation:  Review and Comment
   Contact: Bridgette Williams, Senior Development Project Manager, (916) 808-8053
   
   Action:  Bridgette Williams presented a report back regarding changes to the Ombudsman program.  She indicated that there will be a name change to “Service Manager” from Ombudsman, and that the three tiered tracking system will be eliminated, and that the new goal for resolution will be 24 hours from the complaint.  She has solicited assistance from the MATRIX Team Leads, and will bring data back to the DOC on an annual basis.  Commissioner Fuerst asked about the many complaints that were addressed within 24 hours that were previously untracked.  Bridgette indicated that the increase in staff participation would allow for tracking of all complaints.  Commissioner Valine encouraged the team members to identify extraordinary customer service efforts to recognize staff.  Bridgette discussed the staff recognition plan currently implemented in the department.
   
   
5. Building Division- Report Back on Inspection Workload and Assignments
   Location:      Citywide
   Recommendation:  Review and Comment
   Contact: Carl Hefner, Assistant Chief Building Official, (916) 808-8779
   
   Action:  Carl Hefner distributed the building inspection assignment sheet for the date of 7/24/08, including data about the numbers of residential, commercial and total inspections.  He discussed the number of square miles covered, and the division of the City into four inspection areas.  He added that Ed Short was working on the breakdown of disciplines involved in plan review for the next DOC meeting.  Commissioner Schriefer asked about measurements of other metrics regarding inspections such as on time, pass/fail, morning vs. afternoon appointments, etc.  Carl answered that all of these statistics were measured in real time so that he can balance workloads.  Commissioner Valine asked for future reports to include the percentage of inspections completed on time.   Commissioner Fuerst asked how workload was balanced during peak/seasonal situations, and if stand by consultants were utilized.  Carl answered that consultants were available to use during peak periods.  Commissioner Nunan asked about printed correction usage in the field.  Commissioner Holloway complimented the department on the increase in customer service and the on-time record of inspections.
   
   Attachment:
   Inspection Assignment
   
   
6. Building Ordinance Revisions- Alignment with State Building Code
   (Various sections of Title 15)
   Location:  Citywide
   Recommendation:  Review and Comment
   Contact: Bob Chase, Chief Building Official, (916) 808-8024
   
   Action:  Bob Chase presented the updated City building ordinances relating to the adoption of the California Building Standards Code.  He stated that the update was primarily administrative and that new plumbing, mechanical and electrical codes were updated as well.  Commissioner Fuerst asked about the new code relative to the timing of development, and whether projects in the approval process were affected.  Bob answered that flexibility was offered to customers and that policy memos were issued addressing that flexibility.  Commissioner Fuerst asked about additional cost associated with the new code.  Bob answered that it was difficult to calculate the difference, and added in some cases it would be less costly.  Commissioner McBurney asked about anchor bolting requirements.
   

Public Comments - Matters Not on the Agenda

7. None.

Questions, Ideas, and Announcements of Commission Members

8. None.

Adjournment - 6:30 pm