Principal Planner - Department of Planning and Development

The Department of Planning and Development is currently seeking a highly motivated, thoughtful, and energetic Principal Planner who is innovative and has a passion for sustainability to plan and coordinate the department’s major functional areas, including advanced planning and major projects. A successful candidate will have strong interpersonal and customer service skills and a solid foundation in general plans, zoning ordinances, regional planning, and inter-jurisdictional coordination. The Principal Planner is expected to be a strong project manager, specifically in their ability to manage a team of staff and consultants in processing complex development applications or general plan updates.

The Principal Planner position reports to the Deputy Director of Planning Services and is responsible for overseeing one of four sections within the Planning Division: 1. Current Planning, including Zoning Administration Projects; 2. Major Projects; 3. Long Range Planning; and, 4. Intergovernmental Affairs (IGR), Public Policy Planning, including Housing Policy. A Principal Planner may supervise projects across multiple disciplines, depending on the Department’s work plan.

• Analytical and practical understanding of State laws and regulations impacting land use and local government.
• Experience in complex medium-to large-scale development entitlement projects such as campus planning, industrial, commercial, housing, or similar projects requiring advanced CEQA processing.
• Experience as a lead or co-project manager in long-range or comprehensive planning projects.
• General practice and knowledge in preparing and processing advanced CEQA documents, including Initial Studies, Mitigated Negative Declarations, and Environmental Impact Reports.
• Experience in the management of CEQA and technical consultants, including meeting coordination, reviewing work products, monitoring timelines and budgets, and contracting/billing.
• Experience and knowledge of the general requirements of the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA).

• Plans, coordinates and directs the work of a major functional planning unit;
  
• Manages complex and sensitive planning applications and projects, performs research and analysis, and oversees the preparation of master plans, concept plans, feasibility studies, environmental documents and other planning-related documents;
  
• Monitors and ensures compliance with Local, State and Federal laws;
  
• Supervises, directs, assigns and reviews the work of subordinate staff;
  
• Interviews, selects and recommends in the hiring of personnel, establishes work standards, evaluates the work performance of employees, forms and oversees teams, and provides mentoring and coaching to employees;
  
• Assists in the development and implementation of the planning function's annual work plan, budget, performance measures, expenditure controls and goals;
  
• Evaluates and prepares reports on operations and activities, and leads improvement programs and projects;
  
• Makes or supervises presentation of reports and studies to decision-making bodies, concerning County land use and development plans, policies and regulations, private development proposals within the unincorporated area, master plans, concept plans and various other matters affecting land use, parks and recreation or environmental quality in Santa Clara County;
  
• Advises managers and confers with elected officials, local government and regional agencies in coordinating planning issues and the work of the office;
  
• Provides or supervises staff to support the necessary functions of various county and inter-jurisdictional decision-making bodies or advisory committees such as Board of Supervisors, Parks and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission, Airport Land Use Commission, Historic Heritage Commission, Housing, Land Use, Environment and Transportation Committee, and San Martin Planning Advisory Committee;
  
• Represents the County on planning matters at commission meetings or boards such as Bay Trail, Bay Area Ridge Trail Council South County Committee and before community groups and at conferences;
  
• Acts as liaison to other planning agencies or special districts such as Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), and Valley Transportation Authority (VTA);
  
• May be assigned as a Disaster Service Worker, as required;
  
• Performs other related work as required.

Possession of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college with a major in planning, architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, natural resources, social science or related field;

• State laws, guidelines, and local ordinances necessary to supervise Parks and Recreation Department's Planning Unit or one or more of the major functional planning units in the Planning and Development Department, such as the County's General Plan revision, maintenance and implementation; environmental protection regulations such as California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) or National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); and land use ordinances;
  
• Goals, trends, concepts, principles, techniques and legal aspects of community and regional planning, environmental evaluation, parks and recreation, and zoning administration;
  
• Implications of physical, economic, aesthetic and social factors involved in community and regional planning;
  
• Governmental organizations and operations and community interrelationships;
  
• Principles of program and personnel management and training;
  
• Advanced research, statistics, and math applicable to planning and property development;
  
• Common computer applications such as word processing, spreadsheet, database management, internet, econometric or transportation modeling and geographic information systems.

• Manage and administer effectively the activities of a functional planning unit including program development;
  
• Select, supervise, train and evaluate professional, technical and clerical staff;
  
• Organize and conduct planning research and environmental studies;
  
• Understand and relate to others the aims, concepts, and principles of community, parks and regional planning;
  
• Administer ordinances and laws related to planning projects or requests from the public;
  
• Build relationships, work respectfully, tactfully and creatively with the public, boards, commissions, other planning agencies and staff;
  
• Manage multiple projects and issues effectively and meet firm deadlines;
  
• Facilitate large meetings and community workshops.