2000-01 Santa Cruz County

The California Planning and Zoning Law (Government Code §65300 et seq.) requires adoption of a comprehensive long-term General Plan that determines the development of the county.

The Board of Supervisors determines the annual allocation of the maximum number of building permits to be issued in accordance with Measure J’s growth management program. The 2001 building permits allocations are set at 0.5% over the number of housing units on December 31, 2000.

Land use codes and ordinances are broadly constructed and, therefore, susceptible to multiple interpretations. Review of the Santa Cruz County Planning Department 2000-01 Santa Cruz County Grand Jury Final Report Personnel Findings

The planning staff ’s responsibility is to explain to applicants the limitations imposed on the applicant’s use of their own property by (1) state laws, (2) county codes and (3) county ordinances. Often these rules conflict with the property owner’s desires.

Political influence by the Board of Supervisors places added pressure on the planning staff. Supervisors act for the best interest of their constituency. When membership on the board changes, direction from the supervisors changes.

City governments in the county and many neighboring counties pay higher salaries than Santa Cruz County does. Salaries in Santa Cruz County government are based on a nine- county comparison using Contra Costa, Fresno, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.

Employee morale is low and turnover is at an unprecedented high. This resulted from failure in negotiations to successively challenge the nine-county comparison. At the peak, there were 24 vacancies in the department. This necessitated taking staff from the advanced planning section to cover shortfalls in other sections.

The personnel department has been unable to attract the necessary people with requisite qualifications to fill vacancies in the Planning Department staff. Some vacant positions are difficult to fill because they are classified as temporary positions. The Planning Department requested hiring an outside consultant to assume the recruitment effort.

According to interviews with employees, workloads continue to be excessive. Also, employee performance evaluations have not been conducted on a consistent basis.

The department has budgeted 125 computer classes, approximately one day’s training for each employee of the Planning Department. The managers of each section are responsible for budgeting additional training courses for staff as needed to enhance their skills.

The Planning Director has implemented a program to acquaint new hires with the operations of the department as well as familiarize current employees with functions of other areas within the department. Additional training for new hires is left to other employees in the area where the person works. The responsibility for ensuring that employees obtain continuing or additional training lies with each manager.

In the fall of 2000, the Planning Director has obtained approval from the Board of Supervisors for a new staff position devoted to training. This staff position will evaluate the training needs of the department and devise strategies and methods to satisfy those needs. Review of the Santa Cruz County Planning Department 2000-01 Santa Cruz County Grand Jury Final Report

The Planning Director proposed that employees be assigned to planning teams to be responsible for virtually all the development activity in a particular geographical area. Each team leader will be responsible for acquiring a thorough understanding of the assigned geographic location. Development Review Section Findings