DATE: September 15, 2025
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
President and Members of the Estero Municipal Improvement District (EMID) Board of Directors
VIA: Stefan Chatwin, City/District Manager
FROM: Diane Pitman, Administrative Services Director
Sofia Mangalam, Community Development Director
DEPARTMENT: Administrative Services, Community Development SUBJECT: ADDING NEW JOB DESCRIPTION OF PRINCIPAL BUILDING
INSPECTOR, AUTHORIZING A SUPPLEMENTAL
APPROPRIATION TO HIRE A TEMPORARY PRINCIPAL
BUILDING INSPECTOR AND APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE
AMENDED PAY PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025-2026
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council/EMID Board of Directors (City Council) adopt the attached resolutions approving the new job description of Principal Building Inspector, approving and adopting an amended pay plan for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 effective September 9, 2025 that includes the Principal Building Inspector, authorizing a temporary position in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26 budget, and approving a supplemental appropriation of $169,076.67 to cover the cost of this new position. The source of funding is the General Fund Reserve; however the cost is anticipated to be entirely offset due to plan check fees that will be redirected to the City which would have otherwise been paid directly by the plan check applicants to external consultants. The position has an anticipated duration of three (3) years, with the position and expenditure authority for the position in FY 26-27 through FY 27-28 to be included in the proposed budgets for those respective years.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Community Development Department (CDD) is committed to planning, maintaining, and improving the quality of life and public safety of the City in keeping with the vision of the City Council in the General Plan and other measures that reflect the City’s heritage as a Master master-planned community. CDD is comprised of the Planning/Code Enforcement and Building Divisions.
Staff is recommending establishing a three-year temporary Principal Building Inspector position to provide inspection services and plan review. Hiring a temporary position will reduce the reliance on consultants, who are in high demand, but also provide coverage during staff absences and provide a more stable staffing solution, while maintaining service levels and responsiveness.
In November of 2021, the Principal Building Inspector classification was eliminated when the Plans Examiner position was established. Staff is requesting approval of the updated Principal Building Inspector classification at the salary previously set forth in the pay plan, adjusted for cost of living and requesting approval of the amended pay plan for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 effective September 9, 2025 to include Principal Building Inspector.
BACKGROUND/ANALYSIS
The Building Division is responsible for ensuring that all construction projects permitted within the City comply with the California Building Code, the Foster City Municipal Code, and all other applicable codes and regulations. The Building Division provides permit intake, plan check, and building inspection services to ensure compliance with the California Health and Safety Codes.
The Building Division has a limited staff comprising of six (6) personnel providing services related to all construction activity in the City, including:
•One (1) Chief Building Official (CBO)
•One (1) Plans Examiner
•Two (2) Permit Technicians
•Two (2) Building Inspectors
The limited staff poses a significant challenge in providing continuous and uninterrupted services during staff absences due to vacation, training, illness, as well as during periods when positions are vacant and recruitment is underway. The challenges are especially exacerbated when there is a sudden spike in development activity.
Over the last two (2) years, there have been significant challenges in staffing, including vacancies and staff absences:
•The CBO position was vacant from March 19, 2024, until March 17, 2025. •The Permit Technician position was vacant from July 10, 2024, until December 2, 2024.
•The Plans Examiner position is currently vacant as of May 30, 2025. •The Senior Building Inspector has been on extended leave since June 2, 2025.
When positions are vacant or staff are absent, existing staff must take on additional responsibilities, resulting in operational inefficiencies. Additionally, staff also use on-call building services consultants, including 4Leaf and West Coast Code Consultants (WC3). However, consultant availability has been inconsistent, posing challenges that impact both building inspections and plan review services, which are essential for providing timely customer service to the community.
There are currently several large and complex projects underway in the City that are identified below. This is in addition to numerous additions to homes, modifications to homes, and commercial tenant improvements that occur on a regular basis.
Major Projects Under Construction
•City’s new Community Center
•Lab Building at 331 Lakeside Dr.
•Lab Building at 335 Lakeside Dr.
There are several Tenant Improvement projects anticipated to commence in the next few months, which are identified below:
•Visa - Full interior renovation of the twelve-story buildings (M1 & M2 towers) from level 5 through 12, approx. 573,237 square feet.
•Osaka Marketplace tenant improvements at Edgewater Shopping Center Staff recommends establishing a three-year temporary Principal Building Inspector position. This position will provide overlap in responsibilities for both the Plans Examiner and Senior Building Inspector, providing flexible coverage across two key (2) essential functions of the building division. Additionally, this position will provide support to key Capital Projects that the City has committed to undertake. •Inspection Services: Supervises and participates in major and complex inspections •Plan Review: Checks permits, plans, and specifications for compliance with applicable codes and ordinances relating to building construction and conservation.
The position of Principal Building Inspector was previously established and approved by the City Council on June 17, 2019. However, with the departure of the Principal Building Inspector in November 2021, the position was replaced with the Plans Examiner position. Human Resources staff have met with the AFSCME bargaining unit to reestablish the Principal Building Inspector at the same salary level it was set previously, with adjustments based on negotiated cost-of-living adjustments. An amended pay plan for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 effective September 9, 2025 including the Principal Building Inspector is included for City Council approval.
Staff recommends reestablishing this position in a temporary capacity for a period of three (3) years at the salary schedule shown below and provide full benefits for recruitment purposes. This position would help:
•Provide coverage during staff absences and vacancies.
•Reduce reliance on outside consultants, offering a more stable staffing solution. •Maintain service levels and responsiveness to increased permit activity.
Position Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5
Principal Building
Inspector Monthly
Salary
$11,185.79 $11,745.08 $12,332.34 $12,948.95 $13,596.41
As noted earlier, the City utilizes third-party consultants, including 4Leaf, Inc. and WC3, to conduct plan checks for large commercial building permits such as Gilead's new buildings. The added position of Principal Building Inspector will allow the CBO to redirect his focus from overseeing and covering inspections during staff absences to conducting large plan checks.
Under the existing agreement, the City retains 35% of plan check fees while the consultant receives 65%. To fund this additional position within the Building Division, the City will begin performing a portion of these plan checks in-house rather than outsourcing them entirely. By doing so, the Building Division will retain the portion of the 65% plan check fees previously paid to the consultant which is anticipated to entirely offset the requested supplemental appropriation. In the five year financial forecast (FY 2025-26 to FY 2029-30), staff included (4) potential development projects: the Gilead Campus Expansion including a new 181,000-square-foot Technical Development Center in the main campus and an approximately 200,000-square-foot R&D facility in the Chess Hatch area; approximately 124,395-square-foot R&D building at 388 Vintage Drive, and the Redevelopment of Lantern Cove Apartments.
The three-year temporary Principal Building Inspector position could be partially funded by retaining some of the plan check fees for large-scale development projects in- house. Even though staff is requesting a supplemental appropriation to fund this position, there will be no net fiscal impact due to this increased plan check fees revenue.
California Environmental Quality Act
Not Applicable
FISCAL IMPACT
Anticipating the newly hired Principal Building Inspector will begin employment with the City by November 1, 2025, the expected cost through the remainder of FY 25-26 will be $169,076.67 (i.e., base salary plus all benefits for eight months). The proposed supplemental appropriation will provide the required position and expenditure authority needed to hire this position. The source of funding is the General Fund Reserve; however the cost is anticipated to be entirely offset due to plan check fees that will be redirected to the City. Due to staff vacancies discussed above, plan check applicants pay a portion of their fees directly to external consultants who perform the plan check work. This new position will allow City staff to perform the work, thereby redirecting those fees that would have otherwise been paid directly to external consultants to the City. The redirected revenues are anticipated to offset the cost of the position for no net fiscal impact. The cost of this three-year position in FY 2026-27 through FY 2028-29 will be included in the proposed budgets for those respective years.
CITY COUNCIL VISION, MISSION, AND VALUE/PRIORITY AREA
Staff Empowerment and Operational Excellence
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1 – City Resolution
Attachment 2 – EMID Resolution
Attachment 3 – Principal Building Inspector Job Description Attachment 4 – Amended Pay Plan for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 effective September 9, 2025