Associate Planner
Associate Planner
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$ 108802 - 131374
1 Vacancy
Job Description
Position Description
The City of Walnut Creek is recruiting for a fulltime Associate Planner to join the Current and/or LongRange Planning team of the Community Development Departments Planning Division.
Salary
The current salary range is $108802 to $131374 annually. Placement in the range will depend on qualifications. Effective July 1 2025 there will be a 4% increase to the annual salary. The new salary will be $113154 to $136629.
Closing Date
The closing date for this recruitment isWednesday May 14 2025 at 5:00 PM PST.Whats great about this opportunity:
- Work with a great team that is passionate about planning;
- Supportive management that values collaboration creativity and professional growth; and
- Flexible and hybrid work schedule options are available
About the City
Spanning 19.5 square miles the communitys sprawling landscapes warm weather diverse dining options and thriving shopping district make Walnut Creek a suburban oasis with an urban flair. With a rare blend of 2800 acres of open space a vibrant downtown a business park premier healthcare facilities and a performing arts center Walnut Creek offers something for everyone!
The City of Walnut Creek is committed to values of respect integrity excellence teamwork and creativity. CARE the Citys robust awardwinning employee engagement initiative focuses on three key areas: providing career development opportunities; promoting connections among employees; and supporting employee health and wellness.About the Department and Division
The Community Development Departmentincludes Planning Housing Building and Code Enforcement. The Planning Division is part of the Citys Development Services Team and partners with the community to plan for the future of Walnut Creeks built environment.
The planning division is responsible for creating maintaining and implementing City policies that direct the physical development of Walnut Creek. Planning serves as the point of entry for development proposals and provides assistance to architects designers developers builders and residents navigating the regulatory process. This process can include single family property owners as well as residential and commercial builders. On a daily basis staff assists customers with permit processing and provides guidance on City policies related to environmental design. Staff also maintains and implements the General Plan the Citys longrange blueprint and policy document.
Our team is a conscientious and passionate group of professionals working collaboratively to review and facilitate development of safe healthy and sustainable residential and commercial developments that comply with applicable codes and regulations while striving to promote aesthetics encourage economic vitality and enhance the design of the Citys built environment. We are committed to creating a positive work environment through support of creativity innovation and teamwork.About the Position
The Associate Planner is the journeylevel class in the professional planning series and works under the supervision of a Principal Planner. Associate Planners are assigned planning work of moderate to high levels of complexity. Work may include analyzing development projects conducting planning studies preparing general plan and zoning amendments assisting with housing policy design review environmental review ministerial plan checking and permitting making public presentations to decisionmaking bodies consultant contract management counter duties and related professional planning work.The Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate will bring collaborative teamcentered qualities to the Department; be selfmotivated detailoriented andselfassured with the ability to exercise a high degree of common sense and sound judgment.The candidate will possess the following experience attributes and traits:
- Exceptional written communication skills with the ability to clearly and concisely translate complex information for various audiences;
- Experience drafting staff reports technical memos longrange policy documents and public notices;
- Solid understanding of planning and zoning functions and state housing laws California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) architectural and site design review;
- Strong project management abilities with the capacity to prioritize work assignments manage time and resources effectively and adapt to changing priorities;
- Effective communication skills with all project members including contractors architects special consultants applicants and internal teams;
- Confident public speaking and presentation skills with experience presenting to City Council Planning Commission advisory boards and community groups;
- Skilled in public engagement including the ability to facilitate community workshops and public outreach efforts;
- Ability to research and create draft resolutions ordinances and General Plan amendments for review;
- Solutionsoriented thinker with a continuous improvement mindset; proactively seeks out areas for increased efficiency and brings forward practical implementable recommendations.
- Demonstrated ability to navigate land use conflicts and resolve issues with professionalism and diplomacy.
Representative Duties
- Conducts assigned planning projects involving land use populations structures economic activities housing environmental and related subjects; conducts research and confers with applicants interested parties and agency representatives to identify problems and opportunities.
- Analyzes data with respect to relevant laws ordinances regulations and policies; determines methods to reconcile project conflicts with local requirements and State and Federal law by preparing policy and zoning code updates.
- Prepares professional staff reports of summarized data conclusions and recommendations; makes oral presentations to the public and elected and appointed decision makers including the City Council and Commissions.
- Receives and reviews planning applications; coordinates review with various City and outside agencies; works as part of a team on complex applications and longrange planning projects; responds to inquiries both orally and in writing; interprets City policies local ordinances and State laws within established parameters; explains City procedures in person over the phone and in writing.
- Drafts a variety of written documents including letters reports grants resolutions findings ordinances amendments to ordinances and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) documents.
- Provides technical advice to other departments the general public contractors and other professionals including explaining City ordinances regulations resolutions and planning and zoning policies.
- May lead a team on long range projects.
- Prepares and oversees the preparation of social media content graphs charts and other displays.
- May administer contracts and oversee the work of consultants.
- May provide staff support to City agencies commissions or adhoc advisory groups.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
Qualifications Guidelines
Any equivalent combination of education and experience that provides the knowledge skills and abilities is qualifying.
Education
A Bachelors degree from an accredited fouryear college or university with major coursework in urban planning architecture public policy geography or a related field.Experience
Two (2) years of professional experience in the assigned field.Professional experience in the current longrange (advanced) environmental and/or housing planning field or equivalent would be considered related fields.Special Requirements
Possession of or ability to obtain prior to employment a valid Class C California Drivers License and a good driving record.Knowledge Skills and Abilities
- Knowledge of Federal State and local laws and policies and best practices and principles related to planning zoning housing transportation planning and/or environmental planning.
- Knowledge of statistics and research methods employed in collection and evaluation of data.
- Skill in understanding and interpreting technical data and documents.
- Skill in reading and interpreting applicable codes ordinances and regulations.
- Skill in collecting recording analyzing and interpreting data.
- Skill in communicating effectively in English both orally and in writing; making presentations; and preparing clear concise and accurate written materials.
- Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with others.
- Skill in applying urban environmental housing zoning and transportation planning principles and methods to local problems.
- Ability to effectively utilize computer applications and technology related to the work.
- Proficient with standard office software proficiency with project management tools Accela InDesign and GIS highly desirable.
Supplemental Information
The deadline to apply for this position is Wednesday May 14 2025 before 5:00 PM PST. To be considered for this opportunity please visit possessing the MOST DESIRABLE qualifications will be invited to continue in the selection process which may include an oral interview and/or a practical exercisetentatively scheduled for the week of June 2 2025. Department interviews aretentatively scheduled for the week of June 9 2025.
All applicants will be notified by email as to whether or not they are invited to participate further in the selection process. Applicants considered for appointment to this position will be subject to California Department of Justice and FBI fingerprinting and thorough background check. If you have a disability as defined by state and federal law that could impact your participation at any stage of the recruitment process please contact Human Resources at (925)or to request a reasonable accommodation. Please provide the Human Resources Department with advance notice and every attempt will be made to consider your request. As required by law all public employees are designated as Disaster Service Workers. As such all City of Walnut Creek employees may be called upon to assist in the event of fire flood earthquake or other natural or manmade disasters. Please see theclass specificationfor a complete description of this classifications representative duties; knowledge skills and abilities; qualifications; working conditions; physical requirements; and for other details about this position.
Required Experience:
IC
Employment Type
Full-Time
