DPLU to become DPDS

The County of San Diego’s Department of Planning and Land Use will soon be replaced by the Department of Planning Development Services.

A 4-0 San Diego County Board of Supervisors vote Sept. 11, with Ron Roberts in Washington as part of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce delegation, approved the introduction and first reading of the ordinance. The second reading and adoption is scheduled for Sept. 25. Although an ordinance normally takes effect 30 days after adoption, the amendments to the existing ordinances and codes will take effect on Nov. 26 to coincide with the scheduled on-line date for a new software application called the Business Case Management System.

In April 2011, the county supervisors created the Red Tape Reduction Task Force, which had the purpose of examining the land development permitting process and identifying potential operational improvements. The goal was to improve efficiency with the objective of internal changes in the roles of county planning staff.

The task force provided 35 recommendations including one to organize county departments around the development review permitting process, which incorporates the land use activities of the Department of Public Works, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Department of Environmental Health into what is now the Department of Planning and Land Use (DPLU).

On March 28, the supervisors directed county staff to return to the board with a presentation on such a plan, and on May 9 the supervisors directed the county’s Chief Administrative Officer to work on creating a new county department which would centralize land development services.

The reorganization as approved Sept. 11 replaces DPLU with the Department of Planning Development Services while transferring 18 Department of Public Works staff positions in DPW’s Land Development Review division to DPDS. The Sept. 25 adoption would also approve the transfer of appropriations to reflect the change, while the Zoning Ordinance and other county codes would be changed to reflect DPLU’s new name.

DPLU currently has 160 staff positions, so the transfer of the DPW employees would bring the DPDS staff total to 178.