Results of Survey of Other Jurisdictions

Appendix: Survey Results

Organization & Administration

	Austin, Texas	Baltimore, Maryland	Charleston, South Carolina	Los Angeles, CA	New Orleans, Louisiana	Oakland, California	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	San Francisco, California	Vancouver, BC, Canada
Planning Function Organized		Stand-Alone	Two Departments¹	Stand-Alone	Stand-Alone	Other²	Stand-Alone		Other³
Planning Commission Appointed By:	City Council⁴	Mayor	Mayor	Mayor	Mayor	Mayor	Mayor	Mayor	Mayor
Is Approval Required?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Appointment Approval		City Council	City Council	City Council	City Council	City Council		Board of Supervisors
Who selects the Commission Chair?	Commission	Mayor	Commission	Commission	Commission	Commission	Commission	Commission	Commission
Is Training Required For Commissioners?		Yes	No	No⁵	No	No	No	No	No
Types of Training		General, Specific (General Plan and Planning Code), and Mmgt Training	Department Provides Training⁶		Some Training⁷	Some Training⁸	General Training
Other Appointed Bodies involved on Development Apps.		Housing & Community Development	Several⁹	Several¹⁰	Several¹¹	Several¹²	Numerous	Landmark"s Advisory Board, Board of Appeals, Board of Supervisor	Urban Design Panel and Development Permit Board

Appendix: Survey Results

Organization & Administration (Continued)

	Austin, Texas	Baltimore, Maryland	Charleston, South Carolina	Los Angeles, CA	New Orleans, Louisiana	Oakland, California	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	San Francisco, California	Vancouver, BC, Canada
How often does the Planning Commission meet?	Every Other Week	Every Other Week	Monthly	Every Other Week	Every Other Week	Tri-Monthly	Monthly	Every Week	Weekly
Number of Decisions:
Planning Commission		350	150	130	130-150	100	1800
Other Body		1,600	2,676	4,500	150	1000	1500
Staff Turnover for past two fiscal years			6%		0.2%	10%	16%		0.14%
Is Staff Time tracked on each Application?		No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Is cost tracking system computerized?			No	Yes				Yes
How are planning Application fees determined?		Housing and Community Development	Percentage of construction costs; Review of surrounding jurisdictions	Time and Materials	Time and Materials, CU	By City Council	Department of Licenses and Inspections	Time and Materials, Percentage of Construction Cost
Community Input:
a) regular Planning Commission Hearings		Highly Useful	Useful	Useful	Useful	Highly Useful	Highly Useful	Highly Useful
b) Special Commission or Committee Hearings		Useful	Highly Useful		Highly Useful	Highly Useful	Highly Useful	Not Useful	Useful
c) Neighborhood Ombudsperson			Highly Useful		N/A		Useful	Not Useful
d) Other		Zoning Appeals / Liquor Board	Community Meetings	Public Meetings	Email, Community Meetings		Community Meetings		Public Workshops
Process similar to Discretionary Review?		Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Name of Process		Site Plan Review			Design Review	Design Review		Discretionary Review
No of Reviews		550			72	Varies¹³		254

Appendix: Survey Results

Authorized Staff

	Baltimore, Maryland	Charleston, South Carolina	Los Angeles, California	New Orleans, Louisiana	Oakland, California	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	San Francisco, California	Vancouver, BC, Canada
Current Planning	15	14		11		15		36
Long Range Planning		4		6		14		29
Administration	8	2	45	4		14
Quantitative
Environmental Review			19			2
Special Projects
Information Technology		5		5		3
Code Enforcement
Other: Capital Improvement Planning	4			1
Other: Transportation Planning	3
Other: GIS/Graphics						9
Other: Urban Design						5
Other: Board of Zoning Adjustments				2

¹ There are two separate departments: 1) Design, Development and Preservation; and 2) Planning and Neighborhoods.

² Community Development Agency - Planning is one of five divisions; 1) Planning, 2) Housing, 3) Redevelopment, 4) Economic Development, and 5) Building.

³ Community Services Group made up of the Planning Department, Development Services, Social Planning, Inspections and Enforcement, Social Planning, Office of Cultural Affairs, Housing Center, Non-Market Housing, and the Community based Gathering Place and Carnegie Center.

⁴ City Council (7 members including the Mayor) appoints the Planning Commission (9 members) and the Zoning and Platting Commission - ZAP (9 members).

⁵ Commissioners are not required to receive training but they are willing to do so. Depending on how many commissioners are appointed, at what time, and the extent of the training varies.

⁶ Department provides subscription to Planning Commissioners Journal for each member and various planning publications for commissioners.

⁷ Commissioners receive a 2 hour briefing, get support for national/state training/conferences, and hold a retreat every 8 months or so.

⁸ Commissioners are encouraged to attend League of Duties Training or the National APA Conference, as funds are available.

⁹ Board of Zoning Appeals-Site Design, Commercial Corridor Design Review Board, Board of Architectural Review and Technical Review Committee.

¹⁰ Director of Planning, a Zoning Administrator or Area Planning Commissioner

¹¹ Historic District Landmark, Board of Zoning Adjustments, Housing Conservation District Review Committee

¹² Zoning Administrator/Planning Director - 90% & Planning Commission 10%.

¹³ Commission: 100 & Staff/ Planning Director: 11,000

Results of Survey of Other Jurisdictions

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