STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date:
September 23, 2025
CONSENT
7 SUBJECT: PLANNING DIVISION UPDATE AND WORKLOAD SUMMARY THROUGH SEPTEMBER 8, 2025
RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Receive and file the Planning Division Update and Workload Summary, which covers the period from September 2024 through September 8, 2025.
Appropriation: $0 Fund: N/A
Submitted By: Matthew Schneider Approved:
Matthew Schneider, Director of
Community Development
Dave Kiff, City Manager
SUMMARY OF THE MATTER
This report provides the eighth update on the Planning Division Workload Summary in response to the City Council’s direction on October 8, 2024, to receive regular updates on planning application processing times and efforts to eliminate the application backlog. Since April 2025, the backlog has been eliminated, and the Division has continued to meet or exceed turnaround targets.
As of September 8, 2025, the average time a zoning plan check (ZPC) remains in a planner’s queue has decreased to 20 days, down from 57 days in August 2024, despite an increase in total pending ZPC applications. Staff continues to target a 30-calendar day or less ZPC review period, a 14-day average turnaround for building plan checks, and a maximum of 45 days from ZPC clearance to the first design review hearing.
This item has no fiscal impact and is exempt from CEQA as it is not a project under CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b).
DISCUSSION
At the October 8, 2024, City Council meeting, the Council requested regular (optimally monthly) updates on the Planning Division Workload Summary to track progress in eliminating the planning application backlog, and now in keeping up with our goal of a 30-day turnaround time (or less). Staff provided updates during the City Council Meetings on November 12, 2024, January 14, 2025, February 25, 2025, April 22, 2025, May 20, 2025, June 24, 2025; and July 22, 2025 - this is the eighth update.
Our current goal is:
• A 30-calendar day or less turnaround per zoning plan check (ZPC) round. • At or below a 14-calendar day average turn-around time per building plan check round; and PLANNING DIVISION UPDATE AND WORKLOAD SUMMARY THROUGH SEPTEMBER 8, 2025
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• A 45-calendar day maximum from the date of ZPC clearance to the project's first design review hearing.
Current Data Insights. As of September 8, 2025, our numbers look like this:
The table above shows that review turnaround time has consistently decreased. The average number of days a project remains in a planner’s queue is down from 57 days in August 2024 to 20 days pending, despite the volume of pending ZPC applications increasing from 192 to 258.
Zoning Plan Check Workload. As shown in Attachment 2, ZPC workload has decreased in the most recent two months down from 272 applications to 258 applications. The average number of total ZPC applications over the past 12 months is 263.
On January 15, 2025, the Community Development Department officially launched online permitting through the Energov system. One of the key benefits of this new platform is its ability to track and monitor project data throughout the entire permitting process. Because many projects currently receiving building permits began their initial zoning plan check prior to the system’s launch, data gaps remain, and reporting still requires a combination of manual analysis and input alongside Energov data. In the long term, once the majority of projects originate within the online system, staff will have access to robust reporting features that include full cradle-to-grave metrics such as: total duration from zoning plan check to building permit issuance, the time from zoning plan check to public hearing, and the time from public hearing to building permit issuance.
To provide the Council with additional data in the interim, staff conducted a manual analysis of all 175 building permits issued in July that required entitlements. Based on this analysis, a total of nine projects with entitlements associated were issued building permits, with the average time from initial Zoning Plan Check to Building Permit issuance at 17 months (524 days). This analysis is not fully representative of department-wide turnaround times but establishes a baseline that can be tracked moving forward. Staff intends to repeat this analysis periodically until Energov data is sufficient to generate automated, comprehensive reports.
As part of ongoing outreach, staff recently shared an update (see attachment) with a stakeholder email group of approximately 200 local architects, designers, and building industry professionals. This update included a summary of recent process improvements in the department as well as the announcement of virtual online PLANNING DIVISION UPDATE AND WORKLOAD SUMMARY THROUGH SEPTEMBER 8, 2025
September 23, 2025
planning appointments. Customers may now schedule 20-minute appointments with counter permit staff between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. daily. These sessions allow customers to ask general zoning and planning questions, receive immediate feedback, and get assistance with using the online permit portal. The goal is to reduce in-person counter traffic, provide added convenience, and improve efficiency by giving customers a guaranteed appointment time.
As of April 15, 2025, the Planning Division backlog was eliminated, and staff has since been meeting or exceeding project turnaround times. Looking ahead, the focus will shift to Building Division operations with the primary goal of reducing counter wait times as a leading performance metric. This will involve mapping and streamlining permit intake processes, modifying the queuing system, and establishing a fasttrack lane for simple, quick counter transactions. At the same time, staff will work to set appropriate customer expectations by educating applicants on which transactions are suitable for over-the-counter service versus those requiring online submission or extended review. Preventing long, complex transactions sometimes exceeding 60 minutes from creating bottle necks at the counter queue will allow staff to provide better customer service and ensure timely processing for all. More details on Building Division process improvements will be shared with the Council in the coming months.
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
The recommended action has no financial impact to the budget.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The recommended action has no environmental impact.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Community Development Stakeholder Update (Pgs. 4-8)
2. Total Zoning Plan Check Workload (Pg. 9)
Report Prepared By: Coordinated With:
Erin Fabian, Administrative Analyst