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Recommendations 18

• R1

  Page 59
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to develop and present a series of public workshops to explain its processes and procedures and address questions and concerns from the public. Americans with Disabilities Act 51
• R2

  Page 60
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to establish and adhere to reasonable definitive timelines for issuing permits.
• R3

  Page 60
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department leadership team to collaborate with staff to help shift its culture from a perceived slow growth approach to a dynamic growth approach.
• R4a

  Page 60
  That the City of Santa Barbara share the results of the “Land Development and Construction Permitting Workflow and Organizational Study” with the Community Development Department staff and direct that the Department implement appropriate recommendations for reorganization and streamlining in a timely manner.
• R4b

  Page 60
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to consider consolidating all Building and Zoning ministerial approval processes under one staff team, with one manager and budget.
• R4c

  Page 60
  That, if Recommendation 4b cannot be implemented, the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to do building and zoning review and approval before a building permit application is accepted.
• R4d

  Page 60
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Planning and Building and Safety Division leaders to brief their employees on each other’s functions, so there is a better understanding of where and why they need to coordinate.
• R4e

  Page 60
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department leadership team to make promotion of teamwork as a part of every Community Development Department annual employee performance review. 52
• R5

  Page 61
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to hire an outside consultant to identify causes for low morale, and recommend solutions for improving working conditions, teamwork and employee-management relations.
• R6a

  Page 61
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department leadership to review and analyze its permit fee structure to determine if there are acceptable ways to lower fees, create additional incentives or both to offset costs.
• R6b

  Page 61
  That the City of Santa Barbara fund some costs of the Community Development Department and eliminate the need for the department to be self-sustaining.
• R7

  Page 61
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to hire an outside consultant to work with upper management to improve management and oversight skills.
• R8a

  Page 61
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to review and update the training requirements, including customer service, for each position within the department.
• R8b

  Page 61
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to develop comprehensive training programs for all staff positions with target dates to complete new, refresher and cross training.
• R8c

  Page 61
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to develop a strong mentoring program within the Department. 53
• R9a

  Page 62
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department to develop, conduct and update building code training sessions for all Department employees that have occasion to use or apply codes, with refreshers when there are code changes.
• R9b

  Page 62
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department upper management to identify a building code expert from within the Department who can answer employee technical questions and settle in a timely manner any internal application issues that might arise.
• R9c

  Page 62
  That the City of Santa Barbara direct the Community Development Department upper management to ensure that all building codes are interpreted consistently.