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Our PC (for plats and pudds, primarily) and ZBA (for use and development variances) have been placing SO MANY conditions on approvals that we've just had to say enough is enough. It is not uncommon for some approvals to have 16-17 conditions, and some even more 8-!
There are several factors, of which we are well aware:
1) The zoning ordinance does not have any strong language about what submittals are required in order to be considered a "complete application"
2) Public Hearings expose conditions that neither the staff nor the developer anticipated
3) We do not have a "front counter planner": currently our admin clerk takes and logs applications, but she isn't looking for issues relevant to p&z review, rather she's making sure they are signed, checks made payable in full, et cetera
4) Our application does not make explicit what we expect, other than the fact that the site development plan must be based on a reliable survey
5) A lot of folks think we are communist land grabbing, life-style defining, who the hell do we think we are telling them what they can and can not do with their property, sobs that they pay the salaries for.
I've downloaded JNA's commercial and residential application checklists, and I think we can incorporate a version of them into our own local reviews, but we need to restructure our "corporate culture". SO, what sayeth The Throbbing Brain{tm}?? Is there more to it than I've described above?
BACKGROUND: We are about 40k pop: about 25 sq. mi. miles jurisdiction (primary and secondary); three full time staff (2 professional, and one, umm, appointed), plus our admin staff of one. We have no full time works board staff; city engineer; or, legal department. A lot of the generic stuff that we deal with is hampered by the above and we are left to muddle through, as best we can.
There are several factors, of which we are well aware:
1) The zoning ordinance does not have any strong language about what submittals are required in order to be considered a "complete application"
2) Public Hearings expose conditions that neither the staff nor the developer anticipated
3) We do not have a "front counter planner": currently our admin clerk takes and logs applications, but she isn't looking for issues relevant to p&z review, rather she's making sure they are signed, checks made payable in full, et cetera
4) Our application does not make explicit what we expect, other than the fact that the site development plan must be based on a reliable survey
5) A lot of folks think we are communist land grabbing, life-style defining, who the hell do we think we are telling them what they can and can not do with their property, sobs that they pay the salaries for.
I've downloaded JNA's commercial and residential application checklists, and I think we can incorporate a version of them into our own local reviews, but we need to restructure our "corporate culture". SO, what sayeth The Throbbing Brain{tm}?? Is there more to it than I've described above?
BACKGROUND: We are about 40k pop: about 25 sq. mi. miles jurisdiction (primary and secondary); three full time staff (2 professional, and one, umm, appointed), plus our admin staff of one. We have no full time works board staff; city engineer; or, legal department. A lot of the generic stuff that we deal with is hampered by the above and we are left to muddle through, as best we can.