149 / 194
Morgan Hill, California
143
Zucker Systems
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