Major Accomplishments FY 2010-2011

Customer Services Improvement

• Completed departmental re-organization to implement one-project-one-planner project management
• Engaged in community outreach by attending 37 community meetings with homeowners associations, neighborhood watch groups, advisory committees, special task forces, and county fairs
• Launched online live broadcast and video archives to allow residents and businesses of the unincorporated area to view from their computer all public hearings conducted in downtown Los Angeles
• Implemented the Pilot Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Project to initiate electronic plan submittal, review and storage

Workforce Excellence

• Received 2011 Planning Implementation Award from American Planning Association (APA) Los Angeles Chapter for the Farmworker Housing Ordinance
• Received the 2011 Exemplary Systems Award from the California Geographic Information Association (CGIA) in 2011 for the “Z-NET” Public Interactive Map
• Received 2010 Los Angeles County Productivity and Quality Silver Award for the Countywide Address Management System (CAMS) project collaborating with the other County departments
• Awarded a $97,000 Acquisition and Development Grant by California Aid to Airports Program (CAAP) to update the Brackett Field land use compatibility plan
• Completed two-day training on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) training for all planning staff
• Completed mandatory Risk Management Training for all DRP managers, supervisors and lead staff to reduce legal exposure related to ADA, FEHA and Workers’ Compensation.

Departmental Productivity

• Opened almost 9,000 new zoning enforcement cases, conducted over 14,000 re-inspections, obtained compliance of over 7,300 cases, and referred more than 10 cases to the District Attorney’s office
• Responded to 75 referrals from the Antelope Valley Illegal Dumping Task Force
• Responded to approx. 80,000 telephone calls, 3,000 written inquiries, and counseled about 28,000 walk-in customers at the headquarters and nine field offices
• Reviewed close to 400 non-County projects and environmental documents including the Airport Pipeline, Edison Tehachapi Project, Jordan Downs, California High Speed Rail, Whittier Oil Drilling, and various city annexation and incorporation projects to ensure unincorporated communities’ interests are protected
• Reviewed more than 80 new, revised, amendment, and exhibit subdivision maps at 39 weekly Subdivision Committee meetings
• Presented over 550 zoning and subdivision applications before the Hearing Officers (HO), Regional Planning Commission (RPC), and Board of Supervisors (BOS) public hearings
• Completed more than 3,500 administrative reviews and referrals such as plot plans, zoning conformance review, certificate of compliance, lot line adjustment, temporary use permits, rebuild letters, business license referrals, street vacation requests, parking deviations, and Revised Exhibit “A”s
• Completed review of more than 400 discretionary permits such as conditional use permits, initial studies, nonconforming reviews, oak tree permits, parking permits, variances, zone changes, plan amendments, housing permits, community standards districts modifications, and animal permits
• Conducted 45 Preliminary Subdivision Counseling “One-Stop” sessions
• Completed over 400 internal GIS work requests through the GIS Liaison Program
• Reviewed and approved over 110 final maps and parcel map waivers.
• Completed review of 36 Screencheck EIRs for major development projects such as the Alpine Solar, AV Solar Ranch 1, Aviation Station, Big Rock Creek Mine, Centennial, Deerlake Ranch, Disney Studio, Hidden Hills, Lancaster Landfill, Fairmont Butte Racetrack, Mureau Road, Quest Ranch, Sakaida Mine, Tesoro del Valle, Valley Vineyards, and Wildflower Green Energy Projects
• Reviewed more than 40 legislative proposals and their amendments

Revenue Enhancement

• Generated approx. $3.5 million-dollar in fee revenue from land use permit applications
• Continued implementation of the Supplemental Fee Agreements (SFAs), EIR, Mitigation Monitoring, and other trust accounts; Generated close to $1.8 million in reimbursement to provide for full compensation of departmental costs associated with major development projects
• Referred enforcement cases to the County Treasurer Tax Controller and resulted in approximately $180,000 in future collection of noncompliance fees
• Continued proactive permit inspections which resulted in close to $1 million fee revenue from permit renewal and filing
• Completed the selection process of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill Mitigation Monitoring services to secure funding for environmental and permit monitoring of the landfill operation
• Actively performed permit condition checks for conditional use and other permits resulting in over $250,000 in reimbursement from inspection

Organizational Effectiveness

• Maintained 99% average availability of departmental LAN and E-mail servers
• Established intra-county e-consultation procedures during permit review process

Inter-Agency Collaboration

• Continued participation in 12 Los Angeles County Nuisance Abatement Teams (NAT) and 1 Neighborhood Enhancement Teams (NET)
• Continued participation in the Florence-Firestone Community Enhancement Team (FFCET), Sunshine Canyon Landfill Technical Advisory Committee, Residential Placement Protocol Task Force, Santa Monica Mountains Enforcement Task Force, Metro Technical Advisory Committee, Baldwin Hills CSD Coordination Committee, and District Attorney’s Office Real Estate Fraud Task Force
• Chaired or participated in the following County Committees: the Ventura Freeway Corridor Policy Committee, Interdepartmental Engineering Committee (IEC), Enterprise GIS Steering Committee (eGIS), Los Angeles County Housing Advisory Committee, Street Naming Committee, Sunshine Canyon Landfill Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), Athens Services TAC, Metro Harbor Subdivision Transit Corridor TAC, Metro TAC, South Coast Air Quality Management District Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC), Green Award Committee, and Santa Clarita Valley Drought Committee
• Continued coordination with SCAG and participated in its Plans and Programs Technical Advisory Committee and Sub-Regional Coordinators Committee meetings
• Served as the Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) and processed aviation cases
• Continued to work with the County’s Community Development Commission (CDC) in expediting the entitlement process for its affordable housing projects

Community Engagement

• Staffed local assistance centers established to help victims of wildfires; Prepared and distributed FAQs to assist fire victims through the rebuilt process; Attended community meetings and provided one-on-one rebuilding consulting
• Attended over 40 community meetings with homeowners associations, neighborhood watch groups, advisory committees, special task forces, and county fairs
• Raised more than $1,100 for the 2011 March of Dimes Charitable Campaign

Planning and Research

• Completed BOS adoption of zoning code amendments including Cerritos Island CSD, Altadena CSD and Farmworker Housing Ordinance
• Completed BOS adoption of the Hacienda Heights Community Plan update and Marina del Rey Local Coastal Plan Amendments
• Completed RPC hearing process of Stonyvale CSD and the Reasonable Accommodations Ordinance
• Completed the Draft Technical Manual Update for the Los Angeles County Green Building Program
• Completed the background report and maps for the Florence-Firestone Community Plan
• Completed the comprehensive revision of the Draft East Los Angeles Specific Plan
• Completed Vision Lennox project
• Released for public review the Draft General Plan, Revised Draft Santa Clarita Valley Area Plan Update (OVOV), and Preliminary Draft Antelope Valley Area Plan Update (Town & Country)
• Continued preparation of the Rural Outdoor Lighting District Ordinance and Agua Dulce CSD
• Continued the Zoning Ordinance Update Program (ZOUP) including technical update and general plan consistency projects
• Completed the Slauson Blue Line Station and Vermont Green Line Station TOD technical reports
• Completed the Oak Woodlands Conservation Management Plan
• Completed the Draft Healthy Design Ordinance
• Established the scrap metal yard standard conditions of approval based on evaluation of its existing standards and best practices
• Drafted the County Interdepartmental Subdivisions Manual in cooperation with Public Works, Fire, and Parks and Recreation Departments
• Completed the entitlement process for the Pepperdine Master Plan

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