Position Title:       Sr. Planner 

FLSA:                        Exempt         

Reports To:            Director of Community Development

Summary of Position: Under the general supervision of the Director of Community Development, the employee supports the planning and zoning functions of the Community Development Department by assisting customers with questions; serving as staff to the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals, conducting residential and commercial plan reviews; conducting field inspections; and issuing permits and clearances.  

Essential Job Functions:  Essential functions, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include any of the following tasks, knowledge, skills and other characteristics.  The list that follows is not intended as a comprehensive list; it is intended to provide a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities.  Incumbent(s) may not be required to perform all duties listed, and may be required to perform additional, position-specific tasks.

• Provides customer service, clarification, guidance, interpretation, and assistance through direct contact with internal and external customers in reference to the Zoning Ordinance, land use comprehensive plan, floodplain data, and other county ordinances.
• Assists customers with the process for project and permit approval by discussing proposed projects to evaluate appropriate procedures, review applications, and provide comments; assists with the completion of applications when necessary; receives and processes applications and fees; constructs legal description of application for publication in public hearing notification; uses analysis with code interpretation to create a Staff report for the Planning Commission or the Board of Zoning appeals; attends monthly meetings to assist and provide answers to questions that the Commission or Board may have; mails result letters to applicants; maintains file proceedings; and completes inspections to ensure compliance with Commission and/or Board decisions.
• Administers and communicates the Zoning Ordinance to customers; applies regulations and principles in a consistent manner; fully understands the State Statutes that allow zoning practice within the Commonwealth; provides proper notice of a violation; follows-up with citizens in a timely manner; and diffuses contentious situations.
• Works with other county departments and business units to provide subject matter expertise on zoning regulations and perspectives on best practices related to land use planning.
• Provides GIS support for the Community Development Department as necessary.
• Creates maps analyzing data and completes necessary computations for upcoming projects; analyzes census data to identify areas of need and potential projects.
• Performs additional duties to support operational requirements as assigned.

Core Competencies:

• Customer Focus
• Communication
• Collaboration/Teamwork
• Personal Accountability/Delivering Results
• Diversity and Inclusion

Education and Experience:   Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university in Urban Planning or a related field; and at least three (3) years of professional level experience in municipal planning.

Required Knowledge and Skill: Advanced knowledge of the subject matter.  Complete comprehension of the subject area to solve common and unusual problems, ability to advise on technical matters and serve as a resource on the subject for others. Ability to read literature, books, reviews, scientific or technical journals, abstracts, financial reports, and/or legal documents. Ability to prepare technical reports, document procedures and prepare/give presentations to various audiences. Ability to apply fundamental concepts of theories, work with advanced mathematical operations methods and functions of real and complex variables. Ability to make independent decisions regarding interpretation of existing policies. The ability to perform assignments according to their own judgment, requesting supervisory assistance only when necessary.  Special projects are managed with little oversight and assignments may be reviewed upon completion.  Performance reviewed periodically.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience interpreting federal, state, and local laws and ordinances related to environmental, safety, code compliance, stormwater, and/or zoning regulations.
• Ability to apply regulations to specific issues related to land use planning, proposed development and construction, and reports of potential non-compliance in a consistent and objective manner.
• Experience using desktop and web-based GIS software (i.e., ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online or equivalent) to evaluate proximity/measure distances, create buffers, and prepare custom maps.
• Field data collection using mobile devices and applications.
• Report preparation.
• Zoning Administrator Certification.

Certifications and Licenses: Possession of an appropriate valid driver’s license issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia and acceptable driving record.

Environmental Factors and Conditions/Physical Requirements: This work requires the occasional exertion of up to 10 pounds of force; work regularly requires speaking or hearing, frequently requires standing, walking, sitting, using hands to finger, handle or feel and reaching with hands and arms and occasionally requires climbing or balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching or crawling and repetitive motions; work requires close vision, distance vision, ability to adjust focus, depth perception, color perception and peripheral vision; vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word; hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels; work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data, visual inspection involving small defects and/or small parts, using of measuring devices and observing general surroundings and activities; work is generally in a moderately noisy location (e.g. business office, light traffic).

 This description provides information regarding the essential functions of the designated job, and the general nature and level of work associated with the job.  It should not be interpreted to describe all the duties and performance that may be required of employees or be used to limit the nature and extent of assignments an employee may be given. The County reserves the right to modify the job description as deemed appropriate. This position may be filled at the Planner level depending on relevant work experience.