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Morgan Hill, California
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Zucker Systems
System. The City hired PlaceWorks, Inc., consulting, to complete this work under the
management of the Senior Planner. According to the adopted budget, the General Plan
Update work effort will be funded by Long Range Planning Fee Fund 207 (e.g., Fund
comprised of long-range planning maintenance fee), growth and inter-fund transfers, a
one-time infusion of housing in-lieu funds, and approved transfers from Community
Development Fund 206 (e.g., Special Revenue Fund).
In addition to managing key long-range projects, the Senior Planner for Long-Range
will also supervise the new Associate Planner position and is also responsible for
managing General Plan Amendment applications, the Habitat Conservation Plan
Report and coordinating regional planning activities with Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority and the Association of Bay Area Governments. When time
is available, the Senior Planner may also manage 2-3 current planning projects.
We did not receive any feedback that the Long-Range Planning Program was
understaffed and we were told that the Morgan Hill 2035 project is on schedule and
there were no long-range planning work backlogs.
Current Planning
We received some feedback from focus group members and staff that the Current
Planning Program may be understaffed, given the recent increase in development
activity and staff’s undertaking of Morgan Hill 2035 and the TRAKiT data
management and permit processing software implementation project. For example,
interviewees reported that there are project management inconsistencies,
communication silos and project coordination issues between contract planners and
full-time planners in Current Planning. They also reported that processing takes too
long.
However, other staff stated that they believe that staffing levels are adequate, due to
the utilization of contract staffing. The City also just hired another Associate Planner
to supplement both Current and Long-Range Planning staff (e.g., position will be
divided equally among the two programs). Management staff further stated that all
planning positions process planning applications, although some staff process fewer
than others.
Fulltime Regular Senior Planners
There are 3 fulltime regular planners. As noted above, the majority of one of the
Senior Planners’ available hours is allocated to Long-Range Planning activities,
which leave only fractional time available to manage 2-3 Current Planning projects
per year.