Department of Planning & Zoning

Transcription

1 Department of Planning & Zoning County Building Two Main Street P O Box 329 Gloucester, Virginia Phone (804) Fax (804) TO: FROM: CC: DATE: RE: Board of Supervisors Anne Ducey-Ortiz, Director of Planning and Zoning Sanford Wanner, Interim County Administrator Garrey Curry, Asst County Administrator for Community Development Paul Koll, Building Official September 24, 2015 for October 6, 2015 meeting Strategic Plan Thriving Economy Priorities 3A and 3B As you know, many of us have been working on various tasks and deadlines related to the priorities established by the Board in the Strategic Plan The following priority regarding turnaround time for permits was broken down by staff into 3 priorities and Paul Koll and I were assigned as champions to complete the first two related to simpler permits (those not involving a site plan) Priority #3: Establish a streamlined one step permitting and zoning process that gets all commercial zoning/permitting actions completed within 10 days of receipt The following three recommended priorities (3A, 3B, & 3C) are proposed in place of the previous general priority in an effort to tailor a delivered level of service to different types of permitting actions recognizing that the County has greater control over permitting actions that do not rely on external agencies The three new priorities are founded on the concept of dividing projects into general categories of projects that exhibit Minor, Moderate, and Significant level of complexity Recommended priority #3A: Establish a streamlined one step permitting and zoning process for "Minor" commercial zoning/building permitting efforts, interior renovations, home occupation Type I, without any change of use, such that county action is taken within 10 business days Recommended Priority #3B: Establish a streamlined one step permitting and zoning process for Moderate commercial zoning/building permitting actions (Limited exterior renovation <2,500 sf, change in use, no site plan required) such that county action is taken within 14 business days Paul and I met with the staff involved in reviewing and issuing zoning and building permits to discuss this priority and related tasks They were confident that they were already meeting or exceeding these timelines in the majority of cases, if not issuing the permits, at least 29

2 contacting the applicant for additional information which would allow the permit to be issued In order to determine if staff perceptions were accurate, Denise Canada from Planning and Zoning, and Celeste DeSimone from Building Inspections, pulled the previous year s permit data from the County s Community Plus permitting software to identify the time it took from when an application was received to when it was issued We used data from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015 which reflects: the move to the current location in Building 2; the physical separation of the Departments of Planning and Zoning, Building Inspections, and Environmental Programs; the ability to use the Treasurer s office for payments; and the proximity to the Commissioner of Revenue s office for Business Licenses The data confirm staff s confidence that, for the most part, they are meeting or exceeding the priorities adopted in the strategic plan Permit applications are triaged to the extent possible and those that can be approved quickly, are approved within a few days - ninety-four percent (94%) of all zoning and building permits issued last year were approved in ten (10) days or less The attached histograms further breakdown the available data by time and type 1 and the scatter plots show the distribution of the data While there are outliers, which may explain some citizen s and the Board s perception that permit turn-around time is unreasonable, the provided data demonstrates that overall the response time is fairly quick Board members are welcome to visit Planning & Zoning and Building Inspections to view the source data and understand the extenuating information behind each outlying permit Again, these data reflect both commercial and residential applications that do not require a site plan or other process Assistant County Administrator Garrey Curry and staff from the Community Development departments and agencies are working to expedite the site plan review process and have already made positive changes All departments are looking at their ordinances for revisions to provide more flexibility and fewer obstacles to development including revising the zoning ordinance to allow higher densities in the village areas and more flexibility in uses in all districts The Planning Commission will also be looking at the special exception and other processes as part of the Zoning Ordinance review during the next year It should be noted that the permit turnaround time in both Building Inspections and through zoning is based on the current workload (development activity) and staffing levels If either changes, the permit turnaround time is subject to change Staff that review and issue permits also have other job functions which at times impact their ability to work on permits, such as enforcement, Board of Zoning Appeals meetings, minutes, and related work, as well as the Community Rating System and requirements related to that program - to name a few of the other tasks done by the permitting staff However, permit review and issuance is the priority which often means that enforcement and other duties may not get as much attention during busy times 1 BLP Zoning Business License HOP Zoning Home Occupation Type I (no employees or customers) 30

3 T Priority #3: Establish a streamlined one step permitting and zoning process that gets all commercial zoning/permitting actions completed within 10 days of receipt The following three recommended priorities (3A, 3B, & 3C) are proposed in place of the previous general priority in an effort to tailor a delivered level of service to different types of permitting actions recognizing that the County has greater control over permitting actions that do not rely on external agencies The three new priorities are founded on the concept of dividing projects into general categories of projects that exhibit Minor, Moderate, and Significant level of complexity Recommended priority #3A: Establish a streamlined one step permitting and zoning process for "Minor" commercial zoning/building permitting efforts, interior renovations, home occupation Type I, without any change of use, such that county action is taken within 10 business days Champion: Paul Koll Building Official Supporting Staff: Planning and Zoning Department Key Tasks/Activities 1 Create a team consisting of representatives from the Building Inspections Department and Planning and Zoning Department to review existing joint zoning and building processes 2 Review County application forms to determine whether adequate and necessary information is being requested in order to expedite the review 3 Develop guidance documentation to assist applicants to accurately and completely provide the information required by the application 4 Establish a screening/triage process to sort applications into appropriate categories including: Minor (Interior change with no change in use), Moderate (Interior change with limited exterior change less than 2,500 sf of land disturbance with potential change in use) and Significant (exterior change with greater than 2,500 sf of land disturbance or other criteria requiring site plan submittal) 5 Evaluate staff levels and policy issues needed to achieve the target dates provided in activities 6 and 7 including identifying applications that could potentially be excluded from the zoning permit process Start Dates

4 T 6 Provide expedited response on completion to applicants within 3 to 5 business days of application receipt 7 Complete review and provide zoning and building permit for applications deemed complete and responsive to the ordinance or issue review comments within 10 business days

5 T Recommended Priority #3B: Establish a streamlined one step permitting and zoning process for Moderate commercial zoning/building permitting actions (Limited exterior renovation <2,500 sf, change in use, no site plan required) such that county action is taken within 14 business days Champion: Anne Ducey-Ortiz Director of Planning and Zoning Supporting Staff: Building Inspections Department Key Tasks/Activities 1 Create a team consisting of representatives from the Building Inspections Department and Planning and Zoning Department to review existing joint zoning and building processes (same team as recommended priority #3A) 2 Review County application forms to determine whether adequate and necessary information is being requested in order to expedite the review process 3 Develop guidance documentation to assist applicants to accurately and completely provide the information required by the application 4 Establish a screening/triage process to sort applications into appropriate categories including: Minor (Interior change with no change in use), Moderate (Interior change with limited exterior change less than 2,500 sf of land disturbance with potential change in use) and Significant (exterior change with greater than 2,500 sf of land disturbance or other criteria requiring site plan submittal) 5 Evaluate staff levels and policy issues needed to achieve the target dates provided in activities 6 and 7 including identifying applications that could potentially be excluded from the zoning permit process 6 Provide expedited response regarding the completeness of applications within 5-7 business days of application receipt considering the potential impact of change in use on ordinance required exterior modifications such as parking, screening, accessibility, signage, setbacks, fire protection/life safety, etc 7 Complete review and provide zoning and building permit for applications deemed complete and responsive to the ordinance or issue review comments within 14 business days Start Dates

6 T Recommended Priority #3C: Establish a streamlined one step permitting and zoning process for Significant commercial zoning/permitting actions (those requiring greater than 2,500 square feet of land disturbance, modifications to established entrances to public roads, or those leading to an additional 25 vehicle trips per day) such that internal county action is taken within 30 business days and external agencies (VDOT, etc) are requested to act within 30 business days Champion: Garrey Curry Assistant County Administrator Supporting Staff: Community Development Team Key Tasks/Activities 1 Review of the site plan approval process by representatives from the Building Inspections Department, Planning and Zoning Department, Environmental Programs Department, Public Utilities Department, Economic Development Department, Virginia Department of Health, and Virginia Department of Transportation (Site Plan Review Committee) 2 Develop and fill a new County staff position called Community Development Coordinator who will coordinate the commercial development review and approval process with the intent to streamline and expedite the process while providing a single dedicated point of contact for commercial developers working through the process from concept to business opening 3 Review best practices used by other localities to streamline site plan application processes Consider and review applicable ordinances to ensure only necessary information is being requested to provide for acceptable commercial development 4 Review County application forms to determine whether only necessary information is being requested Develop pre-application form to assist applicants to understand required submittal requirements 5 Establish a screening/triage process to sort applications into appropriate categories including: Minor (Interior change with no change in use), Moderate (interior change with limited exterior change less than 2,500 sf of land disturbance with potential change in use) and Significant (exterior change with greater than 2,500 sf of land disturbance or other criteria requiring Site Plan submittal) Start Dates Underway 7-14 Underway Underway

7 T 6 Revise and update guidance documentation to assist applicants to accurately and completely provide the information required by the application thereby shortening the overall process 7 Provide expedited review of site plan applications by internal county departments and provide approval (or response comments) within 30 business days of receipt of a complete application Encourage external review agencies (VDOT & VDH) to provide review comments within 30 days (Note that State code requires State agency response within 45 days per B) 8 Review and recommend fee adjustments for Zoning permits and Erosion and Sediment Control permits following the site plan review and approval process with the intention of streamlining the approval process Underway

8 Permit Review Time- Planning & Zoning II 807 (94%) In 4-, EI a, (91%) 245(98%) II 63(98%) 54(6%) 49(9%) 1(2%) 4(2%) 10 Days or Less Over 10 Days 36

9 Permit Review Time- Building I, 444(94%) 398(94%) U, ~ 250 Total BUILDING MODULAR SIGN 23 (96%) 23 (88%) 29 (6%) 25 (6%) 10 Days or Less Over 10 Days 1(4%) 37

10 Permit Review Time- Planning & Zoning % L0 ~ 250 a, 92% C- lw 200 LI Pd I, 12% I, 0 I! ---~ 49~% 89(2% % I 2% 2% 3% ~ 4% 39(1% 12940%I I59( ~i 2% 1% 39(0% 2% 1% ~ 0 Days 1 Days 2 Days 3 Days 4 Days 5 Days 7 Days f8oays 9 Days 10 Days 10+ Days Total ZBLP 45 5 i_ I 2 1 I ZHOP Zoning i % 38

11 Permit Review Time- Building II 80 tn 4- E I a) % 14% 11 f 12% 11% 11% Total BUILDING MODULAR I% SIGN Total BUILDING MODULAR SIGN 35% 19% 1% ~1 19(4% ODays idays 2Days 5% 4% 3 Days 7% 8% 6% 59(5% 6% I ~ Iii! I1% 29(2% 8% I312% II 19(2% 29(2% 12% II?~ II I 4 Days 5 Days 6 Days 7 Days 8 Days 9 Days 10 Days 10+ Days J S S 9 1 1~

12 Permit Review Time- Building I II E a) 0-60 Total RES COM 11% 6%7% 6% 0 Total RES COM 0 Days L

13 Permit Review Time- Planning & Zoning 11 II 11 La 4- E a) a II II 2% 3% 3% 4% 1% 2% 0% 1% 0% 0% 0% 1% 0%0% 0% 0 ~ 10 Oays Or Less 1115 Days Days Days Days Total Z-BLP ZHOP Zoning

14 Permit Review Time-Building ~ II - - I I 250 Total BUILDING MODULAR SIGN II 96% 88% 3% 3~ 0-1 4%12% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%0% 0% 0% 0%0% 0% 0% 10 Days Or Less Days Days Days Days 30+ Days Total BUILDING MODULAR~ SIGN _J 42

15 Percentage of Permits Reviewed (Days)- Planning & Zoning II Total ZBLP ZHOP Zoning I e 43

16 Percentage of Permits Reviewed (Days)- Building II, I S I / Total BUILDING MODULAR SIGN I I 44

17 Days To Review Permits- Planning & Zoning ~25 - I a) a > U 0 6 ~2O -o C 0 a) Id, >- CU ols 20 Days To Review 45

18 Days To Review Permits- Building ~ a U o C 0 a, Ln Ct C 25 Days To Review 46