As Carlsbad continues to evolve and grow, the Carlsbad City Council is working to ensure the development services arena, which includes planning, building, engineering and fire prevention, are able to maintain their high quality of customer service while keeping pace with the community's growth demands.
Last fall, the Council enlisted the services of Citygate Associates, an outside consultant, to audit and evaluate the City of Carlsbad's development review process. The goal of the audit was to analyze the policies, procedures, management and operations of the existing process and to make recommendations for improving services for customers.
According to Citygate Associates, the City's existing development review process received positive reviews and is highly regarded among developers, residents and employees. However, there is always room for improvement, especially as the development landscape in Carlsbad changes.
What is the development review process?
Anyone building anything in Carlsbad, from a room addition to a residential home, a planned community or a commercial business, must follow the City's development review process. The City's Community Development Department and Public Works Department manage the development review process to ensure that projects comply with the General Plan, Growth Management Plan and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Projects must also meet city zoning, building and fire code requirements, and engineering and storm water standards.
How will Carlsbad's development review process improve?
The City Council recently approved the $2.5 million Citygate Associates Recommended Action Plan that offers recommendations for policy changes, staffing level adjustments and technological improvements. The total costs reflect up to $1.85 million in one-time costs for essential updates to the General Plan, Local Coastal Plan and Zoning Ordinance, and up to $660,644 in annual recurring staffing costs.
A major policy change recommendation is to update the City's General Plan and rewrite the Zoning Code to make the documents consistent and current, reflecting the growth and changes in the city. Also recommended was a review of all customer handouts and forms to improve information and readability.
Reorganizing the Planning Department into Advanced and Current Planning Divisions as suggested will address the changing face of development in Carlsbad. New development is reaching build-out guided by the City's Growth Management Plan. As a result, the Planning Department's approach must change from developing to redevelopment and maximizing existing development. Planners are now starting to think and plan in terms of infill, such as mixed-use opportunities and improving existing development, as opposed to working on large master plans on vacant land.
Additionally, Citygate Associates recommended adding additional planners in both advanced and current planning to handle the workload more effectively and provide better customer service. They also recommended increasing staffing levels in the Engineering Division and creating a Development Services Manager to oversee the front counter operation.
Suggestions to streamline the review process for both employees and customers include adopting a Case Management Approach for project review and creating a Development Review Team comprised of members from every department involved in the review process. The team will consist of planning, building, engineering and fire representatives who will conduct timely applicant meetings to offer consistency and avoid overlap. Citygate Associates also recommended documentation and procedural changes that will improve record keeping and project flow.
To improve data flow and speed up the review process, Citygate Associates recommended a comprehensive information system analysis of the development review process to improve the use of technology.
Many of the Citygate Associates recommendations are already being implemented. Other recommendations are being addressed during the goals process that staff implements each fiscal year. The changes to the development review process and the financial commitment made by the Council is another example of the its commitment to providing high quality services and customer service for Carlsbad residents and people doing business in our city.
For more information about the Citygate Associates recommendations, contact Sandra Holder at (760) 602-2710.z
Last fall, the Council enlisted the services of Citygate Associates, an outside consultant, to audit and evaluate the City of Carlsbad's development review process. The goal of the audit was to analyze the policies, procedures, management and operations of the existing process and to make recommendations for improving services for customers.
According to Citygate Associates, the City's existing development review process received positive reviews and is highly regarded among developers, residents and employees. However, there is always room for improvement, especially as the development landscape in Carlsbad changes.
What is the development review process?
Anyone building anything in Carlsbad, from a room addition to a residential home, a planned community or a commercial business, must follow the City's development review process. The City's Community Development Department and Public Works Department manage the development review process to ensure that projects comply with the General Plan, Growth Management Plan and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Projects must also meet city zoning, building and fire code requirements, and engineering and storm water standards.
How will Carlsbad's development review process improve?
The City Council recently approved the $2.5 million Citygate Associates Recommended Action Plan that offers recommendations for policy changes, staffing level adjustments and technological improvements. The total costs reflect up to $1.85 million in one-time costs for essential updates to the General Plan, Local Coastal Plan and Zoning Ordinance, and up to $660,644 in annual recurring staffing costs.
A major policy change recommendation is to update the City's General Plan and rewrite the Zoning Code to make the documents consistent and current, reflecting the growth and changes in the city. Also recommended was a review of all customer handouts and forms to improve information and readability.
Reorganizing the Planning Department into Advanced and Current Planning Divisions as suggested will address the changing face of development in Carlsbad. New development is reaching build-out guided by the City's Growth Management Plan. As a result, the Planning Department's approach must change from developing to redevelopment and maximizing existing development. Planners are now starting to think and plan in terms of infill, such as mixed-use opportunities and improving existing development, as opposed to working on large master plans on vacant land.
Additionally, Citygate Associates recommended adding additional planners in both advanced and current planning to handle the workload more effectively and provide better customer service. They also recommended increasing staffing levels in the Engineering Division and creating a Development Services Manager to oversee the front counter operation.
Suggestions to streamline the review process for both employees and customers include adopting a Case Management Approach for project review and creating a Development Review Team comprised of members from every department involved in the review process. The team will consist of planning, building, engineering and fire representatives who will conduct timely applicant meetings to offer consistency and avoid overlap. Citygate Associates also recommended documentation and procedural changes that will improve record keeping and project flow.
To improve data flow and speed up the review process, Citygate Associates recommended a comprehensive information system analysis of the development review process to improve the use of technology.
Many of the Citygate Associates recommendations are already being implemented. Other recommendations are being addressed during the goals process that staff implements each fiscal year. The changes to the development review process and the financial commitment made by the Council is another example of the its commitment to providing high quality services and customer service for Carlsbad residents and people doing business in our city.
For more information about the Citygate Associates recommendations, contact Sandra Holder at (760) 602-2710.z