AGENDA DATE: 2/7/2018
TITLE:
Title
Community Development 2018-2019 Work Program
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Assure alignment between the Board’s interest and the Community Development Department (CDD) work program
ITEM TYPE: Regular Information Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Walker, Graham
PRESENTER (S): Mark Graham
LEGAL REVIEW: Not Required
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this work session is to consider the Board’s interests, as expressed by established priorities and newer initiatives, and assure that CDD is responsive to the Board. The Board’s Strategic Plan Priorities and previously established work program initiatives have provided good direction, but staff recognizes there remains an interest in a number of other initiatives that are not yet part of CDD’s work program. The ongoing challenge is to assure staff remains focused on completing established expectations, while being responsive to the Board as new interests emerge.
STRATEGIC PLAN: Quality Government Operations: Ensure County government’s ability to provide high quality service that achieves community priorities
DISCUSSION: Staff is not recommending a solution at this meeting. Instead, we hope to engage the Board in a dialogue to assure we are being responsive to emerging interests without sacrificing established expectations. The visionary aspects of the Board’s interests excites staff, but there is an ongoing essential need to prioritize these opportunities without sacrificing established expectations, such as maintaining the quality of work and public engagement.
First, Attachment A provides a summary of the work program efforts over the last year, current efforts underway, and additional interests that have not been started. You will note that we have made significant progress towards the priorities and are continuing to work on those remaining priorities. Additionally, there remains a significant number of initiatives that have not yet begun due to resource limitations and staff sees the Board developing additional interests, such as planning for Biscuit Run park, that are anticipated to become new priorities.
Second, staff notes that resource capacity continues to be a primary factor for the success of the work program. We have added a number of interim resources to help, such as part-time interns, planning assistance from the TJPDC, and contracting with outside firms. Even with those helpful measures, we are bumping up against our capacity to effectively manage these resources. Moreover, though the CDD turnover rate improved this last year overall, it remains much higher than the County average and requires CDD to spend much of its management capacity on additional training and quality control.
Finally, there have been unanticipated demands on staff that have diverted resources, such as dedicating a planner to assist with Southwood and shifting a planner to economic development. With the development workload remaining very high, staff capacity will continue to be a limiting factor for new initiatives.
Going forward, staff anticipates the focus will stay on current high visibility priorities. This includes the Rio/29 Small Area Plan, the Hydraulic/29 Small Area Plan to the extent it relates to proposed transportation improvements, the Pantops Master Plan update with a Rivanna River Corridor Plan, assisting Southwood, and transient lodging. Other strategic plan priorities and the recodification of the Zoning Ordinance are anticipated to be the next level of priority, with remaining initiatives being started once some of the current priorities are completed and resources become available.
BUDGET IMPACT: No changes to the budget are proposed at this time, though additional planners have been requested for FY18-19 which, if approved, will ultimately improve overall capacity in the department and help address resource needs in key areas.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
This matter is being presented for discussion. Staff requests that the Board consider the initiatives described and, following a short presentation, share its perspective on how staff can best assure the Board’s interests have been maximized in CDD’s work program.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A: Community Development Work Program, January 2018 status