Deadline to apply: May 8, 2023
The City of Berkeley Planning Department has an exciting opportunity for a Planning Technician in the Land Use Planning Division. Land Use Planning is responsible for preparing long-range policy plans for the future development of Berkeley and managing the regulation of proposed development projects under the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Ordinance. The Division is staff to several Council-appointed commissions and boards, including the Planning Commission, which advises the Council on planning policy; the Zoning Adjustment Board, which reviews most proposed development projects; and the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which identifies and protects the City’s historic and cultural heritage. It administers zoning regulations, reviews development projects, and reviews Land Use permits, and staffs various standing and temporary committees/task forces related to land use planning.
The list established from this recruitment will be used to fill permanent and temporary positions.
The Planning Technician is responsible for performing a wide variety of technical work pertaining to land use, zoning, transportation, or code enforcement. Typical duties may include but are not limited to:
- Providing technical assistance and information to the public, other divisions, and City departments on matters related to planning, zoning, transportation, and building and safety codes
- Answering questions related to various City codes and ordinances associated with program area assigned
- Reviewing plans, zoning permit applications, and supporting documents to assure compliance with requirements such as use, bulk, placement, and parking ratios
- Determining the type of permit process being sought, and enters required information into permit tracking systems
- Researching and compiling information on a variety of planning issues from multiple sources as directed by professional planners
- Assisting to address community complaints regarding code violations
- Preparing narrative staff reports and recommendations on less complex cases
- Preparing public notices and/or property owner verifications
- Preparing maps, charts, and tables of limited complexity
- Performing field inspection work, including conducting site review to verify compliance with conditions of approval, posting notices, and investigating violations of planning regulations and ordinances
- Conducting transportation data collection’
- Gathering field measurements; and evaluates and marks locations for bike racks
- Receiving, evaluating, and processing applications for City’s Residential Preferential Parking Program (RPP)
- Performing routine office tasks in designated program areas, including data entry, file management, copying, and answering the telephone
- Maintaining current City maps, record of applications and requests, and land use documents in the automated tracking systems and/or hard copy files
- Attending public meetings, assisting other planning staff as appropriate