| City Home |
|
|
|
|
|
> |
Print Minutes (PDF)
Development Oversight Commission
Meeting Minutes for
May 4 , 2009
Commission Members
| Dennis Guerra, AIA, LEED AP | Brian F. Holloway | John M. Packowski, Associate AIA |
| Holger Fuerst, Chair | Scott Schriefer | John Nunan |
| Darryl Chinn, AIA, Vice Chair | Roger Valine | Kristina McBurney |
City Staff
William Thomas, Director, Development Services
Sabina Gilbert, Deputy City Attorney
Janis Franklin, Program Specialist
300 Richards Boulevard - 2nd Floor Training Room
May 4, 2009– 5:30 P.M.
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 – 5:40 p.m.
Roll Call - All present except Holloway (A-Ex), Nunan (A-Ex), Valine (A-Ex), Packowski (A-Ex).
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.
- Approval of Minutes for April 15, 2009
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Approve Commission Minutes for April 15, 2009.
Contact: Janis Franklin, Program Specialist, (916) 808-7705
Action: Moved, seconded, and carried (Schriefer/ Guerra: 5; 0; 0) to approve minutes.
Staff Reports
Staff reports include oral presentations including those recommending receive and file.
-
Director Update – Activities of the Development Services Department (Oral)
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Receive and File- Status report on Community Development Department organizational and operational changes, budget, work programs, training programs; and similar matters.
Contact: William Thomas, Director of Development, (916) 808-1918
Action: On behalf of William Thomas, David Kwong updated the Commission regarding the operational merger of the Planning Department and the Development Services Department into the newly created Community Development Department. He stated that the additional planners would bring a very skilled group of staff to the department, and that more long range projects would be undertaken as a team, such as the Urban Design Plan Phase II and the Technology Village. David added that some of the training programs were underway, such as site planning (conducted by Planning Commissioner Wasserman). Ryan Pham updated the Commission regarding the department budget, and stated that the department was on track to meet the revenue target. He added that the labor update would occur next month. David stated that the budget for FY10 has been submitted and will be reviewed and adopted by Council in May. Ryan added that the Division Managers were developing a staffing plan for the future that would include recall once the workload and revenue increases justified an increase. David mentioned that an extensive cross-training effort was underway in all divisions to address the decrease in staffing, and that would provide advancement opportunities in the future. He added that the working managers (exempt) were actively working as line staff to address the staffing reductions, particularly at the permit counter. He added that some advanced planning work had increased, and that staff was now billing to those projects. Commissioner Schriefer asked fellow Commissioners and staff to think about ways to maintain morale in the face of large staffing reductions.
- Workload and Turnaround Times for Plan Review
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Review and Comment- on statistics regarding plan review workload and turnaround times.
Contact: Carl Hefner, Interim Chief Building Official, (916) 808-8779; Ed Short, Supervising Engineer, (916) 808-8859
Action: Carl Hefner introduced the workload and turnaround report, and stated that report covered the period of time where there were large staffing reductions, in addition to the transition of fire plan review tasks to the Fire Department. Carl distributed target due date information, and commented that he would be looking for feedback regarding addressing future upswings in workload. Carl introduced Ed Short who reviewed the workload statistics from the report. Ed stated that staff reductions were starting to affect the turnaround times, and this would continue. He added that over the counter plan review office hours had been changed to offset the resource constraints, and that they were now limited to 1-4 PM. Commissioner Guerra inquired how staff had informed the industry about the changes, and Carl Hefner stated that the new hours had been posted both in the office and on the internet. Ed Short added that staff was now instructed to communicate average turn around time expectations to customers, rather than target turn around times. Commissioner McBurney recommended adding staffing numbers to the turnaround reports to assist with resource allocation and requests. Commissioner Fuerst cautioned staff not to steer away from customer service responsibilities to smaller customers, and asked about the use of overtime for expedited services. Commissioner Schriefer inquired about customer service statistics. Commissioner Fuerst commented regarding compliments he had received regarding staff customer service efforts, and recommended consulting with Commissioner Valine regarding customer service training resources.
- Commission Efficiencies and Effectiveness of Development Review and Hearing Process
Location: Citywide
Recommendation: Review and Comment- update on letter regarding new recommendation for a collaborative approach to investigate the efficiencies and effectiveness of the development review and hearing process.
Contact: Holger Fuerst, DOC Chair; Darryl Chinn, DOC Vice Chair
Action: Commissioner Fuerst commented regarding the recent DOC Annual Report to Council, and stated that it was well received and that there were some pointed questions regarding the merger proposal for the Design and Planning Commissions. He added that Council member Sheedy had asked the City Manager to investigate the staffing and operational costs of all City Boards and Commissions. Commissioner Chinn stated that the Council recognized the efforts of the DOC. Commissioner Fuerst stated that the Council had unanimously approved and supported the DOC initiatives, and that the DOC will initiate an open dialog with the Design and Planning Commissions to kick off the process of increasing efficiencies in a collaborative fashion. He stated that the DOC Subcommittee, led by Commissioner Chinn, should take the lead, and that better public participation may result, with a greater awareness of the process. Commissioner Chinn thanked David Kwong and staff for their time on research, data collection and community outreach. Commissioner Schriefer suggested that each Commissioner do more public outreach to increase exposure and gather community feedback to bring back to the Commission and the Department. Commissioner Fuerst stated that any future outreach regarding streamlining or potential Commission merger should be referred to the Ad Hoc Committee to be created from representatives of all three Commissions.
Public Comments - Matters Not on the Agenda
- None.
Questions, Ideas, and Announcements of Commission Members
- Commissioner Fuerst inquired about the status of the proposed merger of the Appeals Boards, and Carl Hefner stated that the City Manager had reconsidered the merger recommendation.
