City Planner

CITY PLANNER

The City of Santa Rosa announces an exciting opportunity to join a team of professionals performing highly responsible work in the field of urban planning and environmental analysis. Join the City and be part of a dynamic and professional team!

The City of Santa Rosa is committed to building a workforce reflective of our community and establishing a lasting culture of equity and belonging within our organization. Our collective talents and expertise contribute to high-quality public services that support a vibrant, resilient, inclusive City for our community and visitors. We celebrate a diverse workforce and welcome all qualified candidates to apply.

The Benefits of City Employment

In addition to offering a rewarding work environment, opportunity for career growth, and an excellent salary, the City of Santa Rosa provides a generous suite of benefits, including retirement through CalPERS, a competitive leave package with vacation and sick leave, your choice of health plan, and top of the line employer paid (free to you) vision and dental coverage. More information regarding benefits associated with this position can be found on our Miscellaneous Employee Benefits Page.

Additional benefits include:

• A (9/80) Work Schedule
• 13 paid holidays annually, plus 1 to 3 'floating holidays' per year, depending on start date and years of service
• $500 annually for wellness
• The City is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) Employer
• Paid Family Leave

About the Position

A City Planner is the primary point of service for planning issues and meets face-to-face with applicants and residents; conducts neighborhood meetings; makes staff presentations to the Planning Commission, Design Review and Preservation Board, Zoning Administrator, Waterways Advisory Committee, Subdivision Committee, and City Council.

The City Planner is expected to possess a full range of planning duties from entry level through journey level. In order to advance, incumbents within this class are expected to develop the full range of knowledge, abilities and experience required to perform professional planning work involving the application of professional principles and theory to various municipal planning and zoning issues. Individuals assigned to this classification are expected to work independently with limited supervision, complete complex and difficult projects, and as experience is acquired, to perform higher level assignments, many of which have high public visibility, with increasing independence. It is expected that an individual would advance toward the top of the range only after exhibiting skill and abilities consistent with those of a journey level professional. See the Examples of Duties section for more information.

What We're Looking For

The current vacancy will support the Development Review section and is intended for a journey-level planner capable of independently managing a range of professional planning assignments.

Primary responsibilities will include reviewing and processing new development and entitlement applications; reviewing and completing associated environmental documents; reviewing building permits for compliance with applicable planning requirements; and preparing and presenting staff reports and recommendations to the Zoning Administrator, Design Review and Preservation Board, Planning Commission, City Council, and other decision‑making bodies as appropriate. The position will be expected to exercise professional judgment in evaluating development proposals, identifying and resolving planning issues, coordinating with applicants and other City departments and agencies, and providing timely and effective customer service to the public.

Depending on workload and Division needs, the position may also support the Advance Planning section on long‑range planning and policy initiatives. The position will provide a broad range of professional planning services and is expected to work independently on assignments while collaborating effectively with staff, applicants, consultants, stakeholders, and the community.

We are looking for candidates with excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills and a commitment to providing excellent customer service. The ideal candidate has demonstrated experience analyzing and reviewing new development and land use proposals and is a proven self‑starter with a strong commitment to the field who thrives on managing multiple projects and working in a dynamic organization. In addition, the ideal candidate is someone who demonstrates understanding or experience working on behalf of or within communities that have been historically marginalized or underrepresented in local government. In addition to basic computer software, knowledge of GIS and/or permit software is desirable, as well as experience with Accela or a comparable electronic permitting and development‑review system. The successful candidate will have experience managing application workflows, referrals, plan review comments, conditions, and electronic records. The ability to communicate in Spanish as well as English is highly desirable.

For consideration at the City Planner level, a Bachelor's Degree in Planning or a related field and minimum of one year of full‑time planning experience at the professional level above technical‑level work is desired.

Examples of related fields include geography, biology or other life sciences, environmental studies, political science, government, architecture, civil engineering, surveying, and atmospheric science.

The Ideal City Planner candidate demonstrates a solid foundation in planning principles and practices; experience with environmental review, new development/land use planning, and public counter serving a city or county jurisdiction similar to Santa Rosa. Local experience is a plus.

About the Planning & Economic Development (PED) Department

Planning & Economic Development provides a wide range of development services to the community, developing long range plans for the growth of Santa Rosa and reviewing development proposals for consistency with those plans. The Department includes the Planning Division, Building Division (including Code Enforcement), Engineering and Development Services, Economic Development, and Parking.

Selection Process

Applications will be carefully reviewed and evaluated.

Applicants possessing the MOSTDESIRABLE qualifications based on a screening of application materials, with special focus on the supplemental questionnaire, will be invited to continue in the selection process.

• Advise property owners and the general public of the effect and implications of land use, zoning and development actions
• review development proposals for consistency with local general plan, zoning and design standards
• respond to complaints and requests for information from the public
• analyze and interpret social, economic, population and land use data and trends
• prepare written and graphic reports on various planning matters and elements of the general plan
• provide technical assistance in the analysis, coordination and implementation of environmental requirements and regulations
• compile information and make recommendations on special studies
• make public presentations to the city council, various commissions, boards, committees and community groups
• research and draft ordinances for review
• review rezoning, variance, conditional use permit, subdivision, design review and other related applications
• manage consultant contracts for environmental and other planning documents and oversee consultant work
• assist in the orientation and work of new city planners and interns and work with clerical staff
• represent the City and explain planning objectives and policies to various organizations, agencies and public groups;
• confer with and advise architects, builders, attorneys, contractors, developers, engineers and the public regarding City development policies and standards
• provide technical staff support to various commissions, boards, committees and community groups
• represent the City by serving as a member of planning related committees

Knowledge of:

Principles and practices of urban planning and zoning; laws underlying general plans, zoning and land divisions; current literature, information sources and research techniques in the field of urban planning; applicable environmental laws and regulations; computer software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.

Ability to:

Analyze and compile technical and statistical data and prepare reports; utilize computer software to prepare professional reports, spreadsheets, maps and presentations; perform complex professional planning work with a minimum of supervision; conduct and analyze planning studies and present the findings in an understandable manner; apply planning principles and practices to specific problems and formulate recommendations; communicate clearly and concisely, orally and in writing; interpret and explain planning and zoning programs to the general public; work under pressure and meet established deadlines; establish and maintain effective working relationships with co‑workers, representatives of other agencies, municipal officials and the public.

Experience and Education:

Any combination equivalent to experience and education that could likely provide the required knowledge and abilities would be qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Experience - Sufficient independent planning experience of a professional nature in a public planning environment. A minimum of one year of experience is required at the City Planner level. Typically this experience would be comparable to that gained in the City of Santa Rosa's Planning & Economic Development Department.

Education - Equivalent to a Bachelor's degree from a college or university with major study in planning or a related field considered useful in city planning work. (For City Planner level)

License or Certificate:

This classification requires the ability to perform work at various locations. Individuals must be physically capable of operating a motor vehicle safely and possess a valid, Class C, California Drivers License, or be able to demonstrate the ability to travel on scheduled or unscheduled visits to various City facilities or work locations which may or may not be reachable by public transportation.

Working Conditions:

Incumbents assigned to this classification are expected to be able to communicate verbally, in person and or via the telephone and in writing. It is common for incumbents to sit for extended periods of time as they complete their work by using a computer terminal. The work requires an individual to make site visits for the purpose of plan and design review and presentations to neighborhood groups. Formal public presentations are frequently conducted, requiring the individual to be familiar with and use audio‑visual aides as part of the presentation.

Santa Rosa – A Wonderful City to Call Home

The City of Santa Rosa is located just 55 miles north of San Francisco and 30 miles east of the Pacific Ocean with a diverse population of approximately 180,000. Santa Rosa is the seat of Sonoma County and the center of trade, government, commerce, and medical facilities for the North Bay. The surrounding area is home to over a hundred wineries and vineyards and many beautiful parks and recreational facilities. Santa Rosa is in the center of a nationally recognized cycling area. We boast many attractions associated with large cities, including a symphony, performing arts center, theater productions and internationally recognized restaurants, yet still retain the warmth and small town feel of decades past. Santa Rosa has been named one of the 50 greenest cities in the United States with one of the top five mid‑sized downtowns in California.