Planner I/II/III- PBCE

City of San Jose; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 146,000; Full time

Job summary

City of San Jose seeks Planner I/II/III to perform current and advanced planning, including customer service, application review, policy development, and public engagement. You will contribute to housing, zoning, and urban village initiatives while coordinating with multiple departments and community stakeholders.

The role requires preparing planning documents, reviewing environmental aspects under CEQA/NEPA, and presenting recommendations at hearings.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university in urban or regional planning, urban design, urban studies, architecture, landscape architecture, urban geography, or environmental studies or a closely related field.
• Planner II requires two years of entry-level professional planning experience; Planner III requires four years, including two years at the Planner II level or equivalent.
• Possession of a valid driver’s license may be required for some assignments.

Responsibilities

• Prepare long-range planning documents, including plans for Urban Villages, housing, transit station areas, or other specific plans.
• Manage environmental review for projects under CEQA and NEPA, coordinating with consultants and the public.
• Coordinate with cross-disciplinary team members to update schedules and ensure deadlines are met.
• Deliver oral and written reports with recommendations at community meetings and public hearings.

Skills

Communication Skills

Customer Service

Teamwork & Interpersonal Skills

Project Management

Initiative

Problem Solving

Multi-Tasking

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in urban or regional planning

Tools

GIS

Job description

The City of San Jose’s Department of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement serves to ensure the orderly and safe development of private properties, compliance with all applicable building, zoning, and quality of life ordinances and regulations, and to promote healthy and safe community standards. This is accomplished by departmental staff in service to customers by:

• Assisting and guiding land use and development to promote long-term goals and objectives that render safe, beneficial, and more sustainable communities;
• Providing orderly administration and compliance of building codes, as mandated by the various levels of government, to ensure the construction of buildings, homes, and structures meet intended life safety and structural requirements; and
• Investigating and resolving citizen complaints of municipal code violations on private property in order to promote, maintain, and improve quality of life issues that better allow for safe and harmonious conditions in all neighborhoods.

The City’s Planning Division provides oversight and assistance towards the City’s growth and development in relation to regulations related to land use, zoning ordinances, development standards, neighborhood plans, and environmental impacts. The goal is to encourage development that strives to ensure public safety, high quality of living standards, inclusion, and support the health and well-being of all persons living and working in San Jose.

The Division is seeking applicants for the Planner I/II/III classification with the City Planning Section. The positions are full-time and are responsible for various current planning and advanced planning functions such as customer service, planning application review and processing, policy development, community and stakeholder engagement, presenting staff recommendations at public hearings, and inter-departmental collaboration.

The Planning Division is divided into the following four sections:

• Permit Center: Plan check conformance, review for development projects, front counter/public information, and zoning compliance
• Development Review: Entitlement of zonings and development permits, historic preservation, and community engagement
• Environmental Review: Review of projects for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental Policy Act, mitigation monitoring, and implementation of the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation Plan
• Citywide Planning: Long range planning, General Plan updates and amendments, zoning and sign code amendments, preparation of Urban Village/area plans, station area planning, Housing Element preparation and updates, housing policy, data analysis/GIS, grant management, and community engagement

What We Do

The Department’s Planning Division ensures compliance with all the above-mentioned obligations by annually reviewing, analyzing, conducting, researching, processing, and issuing:

• 4,000 compliance review for building permits
• Over 150 commercial, industrial, and residential development permits
• Over 500 of environmental clearance reviews for public and private projects
• Over 50 zoning changes
• Multiple General Plan Amendments, specific plans, and policies.
• Over 50 community meetings and workshops

Typical duties for a Planner I/II/III position may include, but are not limited to:

• Manages the preparation of long-range planning documents, including plans for Urban Villages, housing, transit station areas, or other specific plans. These documents address land use, urban design, housing needs, circulation, streetscape, and parks and open spaces. Applies for and manages grants.
• Prepares amendments and updates to the Zoning Ordinance and Sign Ordinance.
• Manages environmental review for projects pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental Policy Act, including coordination with consultants, technical experts, Native American tribal representatives, City departments, and the public.
• Coordinates with cross-discipline internal and external project team members to establish and update project schedules, identify and resolve issues, communicate regular status updates, and keep various stakeholders informed. Manages projects to ensure that all parties are on track with project requirements, deadlines, and schedules, including deadlines required by State law.
• Confers and coordinates with other departments, agencies, professionals, and the public on land use and environmental review-related matters.
• Provides information and direction to professionals, developers, and the public concerning the General Plan, zoning ordinance, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), historic preservation, and other planning development policies and guidelines.
• Develops and revises planning policies, including the General Plan, affordable housing policies, and other development focused policies.
• Conducts research, data management (including GIS), analysis and reporting in support of other Planning activities.
• Uses a permitting database system to track project statuses and workflow. Conducts electronic plan review.
• Prepares and delivers oral and written reports with recommendations on land use proposals at community meetings and public hearings.

• Performs other duties of a similar nature requiring independent judgment and initiative.

The ideal candidates will possess a high level of professionalism, excellent customer service and project management skills, and a strong work ethic. These positions require good judgment, initiative, perseverance, integrity, organizational skills, flexibility, and strong written and verbal communication skills. The position requires attendance at some evening and occasional weekend meetings outside of standard working hours. The number of evening and weekend meetings varies and is not predictable each month.

Salary range for the classification of Planner I/II/III are:

Planner I: $90,068.16 - $109,418.40 annually

Planner II: $105,028.56 - $127,589.28 annually

Planner III: $120,141.84 - $146,393.52 annually

This salary range includes an approximate five percent (5%) ongoing non-pensionable compensation. Actual salary shall be determined by the final candidate’s qualifications and experience.

Education:

Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university in urban or regional planning, urban design, urban studies, architecture, landscape architecture, urban geography, or environmental studies or a closely related field.

Experience:

• Planner I: None.
• Planner II: Two (2) years of entry-level professional planning experience.
• Planner III: Four (4) years of professional planning experience including two (2) years of experience at the City of San Jose Planner II level or equivalent.

Acceptable Substitution (for Planner III):

Master’s Degree or sixty (60) semester hours of graduate coursework from an accredited college or university in urban or regional planning, urban design, urban studies, architecture, landscape architecture, urban geography, or environmental studies or a closely related field can substitute for the two years of professional planning experience equivalent to Planner II.

Licensing Requirements:

Possession of a valid driver’s license may be required for some assignments.

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history.

Job Expertise

Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations.

Communication Skills

Communicates and listens effectively and responds in a timely, effective, positive and respectful manner; written reports and correspondence are accurate, complete, well‑ organized, legible, concise, and in proper grammatical form; responds to statements and comments of others in a way that reflects understanding of the content and the accompanying emotion; asks clarifying questions to assure understanding of what the speaker intended, ensures consistent communication takes place within area of responsibility.

Teamwork & Interpersonal Skills

Develops effective relationships with co‑workers and supervisors by helping others accomplish tasks and using collaboration and conflict resolution skills.

Customer Service

Demonstrates the ability to anticipate customers' needs and deliver services effectively and efficiently in a timely, accurate, respectful and friendly manner.

Multi-Tasking

Can handle multiple projects and responsibilities simultaneously; has handled a wide variety of assignments in past and/or current position(s).

Problem Solving

Approaches a situation or problem by defining the problem or issue; determines the significance of problem(s); collects information; uses logic and intuition to arrive at decisions or solutions to problems that achieve the desired outcome.

Project Management

Ensures support for projects and implements agency goals and strategic objectives.

Initiative

Exhibits resourceful behaviors toward meeting job objectives; anticipates problems, is proactive, and avoids difficulties by planning ahead; displays willingness to assume extra responsibility and challenges; pursues continuing education opportunities that promote job performance.

Selection Process:

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to all the job specific questions. Only those candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews, and one of the interviews may require an in-person interview.

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Jun Kim at [e-mail].