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Environmental Programs Department

The Environmental Programs Group is responsible for environmental review of VTA’s capital projects, VTA’s Sustainability Program, and VTA’s Stormwater Management Program.  Environmental review includes preparation of federal and state environmental documents; compliance with environmental laws and regulations; acquisition of regulatory agency permits; management of mitigation plans and programs; and coordination on a wide range of environmental topics.  VTA’s Sustainability Program is responsible for reducing the consumption of natural resources and the generation of greenhouse gases in the provision of transportation services through utility management, transportation electrification, climate action planning, waste reduction, and education. VTA’s Stormwater Management Program is responsible for complying with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit known as MS4. The Program aims to reduce pollution of local creeks and the Bay through the implementation of best management practices in project design and construction, educational initiatives for staff and the public, and enhanced maintenance and sustainable landscaping.

What You'll Be Doing: 
Definition
Environmental Planner II: Under supervision, an Environmental Planner II manages environmental studies and environmental compliance programs; and assists in the review of land development applications and documents for impact on transportation systems and/or facilities; and supports VTA's sustainability program.

Environmental Planner III: Under direction, an Environmental Planner III performs comprehensive environmental planning, analysis, and administrative duties for transportation projects and environmental compliance programs.

Distinguishing Characteristics
Environmental Planner II: 
This is the journey level in the Environmental Planner class series. Positions at his level are expected to be conversant with relevant environmental laws, regulations, and guidelines in order to achieve compliance of transportation projects. Incumbents conduct environmental analysis of projects in concert with other staff and consultants and may have responsibility for management of the environmental phase of minor projects or for specific portions of larger projects. This classification reviews environmental documents and development applications received from cities/regional agencies for project impact on the transportation system and/or facilities.

Environmental Planner III: 
This is the advanced journey level in the Environmental Planning series. Positions at this level work independently on the largest and most complex projects directing, reviewing, and coordinating the work of assigned project staff, consultants, and representatives of other public agencies in multi-disciplinary teams. Incumbents conduct environmental analyses of transportation projects and programs with minimal supervision and are expected to be conversant in and achieve compliance with relevant environmental laws, regulations, and guidelines.

Positions at this level require the use of initiative and judgment in resolving problems and recommending effective courses of action. This classification is distinguished from the Environmental Planner II classification in that positions in this class may act in a lead capacity over the work of lower level staff and consultants.

Salary
Depending on qualifications, this vacancy may be filled at the II or III level. 
Environmental Planner II: $49.45 - $64.30 Hourly / $3,956.00 - $5,144.00 Biweekly / $102,856.10 - $133,743.90 Annually
Environmental Planner III: $53.95 - $70.15 Hourly / $4,316.00 - $5,612.00 Biweekly / $112,216.00 - $145,911.90 Annually

Typical Tasks
Environmental Planner II:

• Plans, coordinates, and reviews the work of a multi-disciplinary professional and technical staff and/or consultants conducting environmental studies of minor complexity;
• Manages and coordinates environmental planning, research and analysis of proposed VTA projects, including the planning, design, and construction phases of capital projects, maintenance and operation of facilities, and issuance of permits;
• Analyzes and evaluates the impact of proposed transportation projects and plans, and provides technical input to project design to mitigate adverse environmental effects and ensure compliance with environmental laws and regulations;
• Organizes, prepares, and processes environmental documents, monitoring and reporting plans, technical reports and responses for transportation projects and plans;
• Prepares scopes of work, schedules, and budgets for program activities, and assists with negotiating consultant contracts;
• Prepares necessary applications and acquires permits from regulatory government agencies in compliance with environmental regulations;
• Coordinates, organizes, and presents environmental matters before commissions, governing bodies and at inter-agency and public meetings;
• Provides status of financial expenditures and account balances;
• Develops rationale for legally defensible nexus between transportation mitigation and project impacts;
• Reviews public and private land development referrals (General and Specific Plans, EIR, Notice of Preparation and Project Applications for Site Development, Planning Development, Subdivision, Zoning Changes);
• Develops cooperative arrangements and agreements between public and private sectors for development projects that impact transportation facilities;
• Performs related duties as required.

Environmental Planner III: 

• Implements federal, state, and local agency environmental laws, regulations, and guidelines relating to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA);
• Reviews development proposals received from cities/regional agencies and coordinates with various VTA divisions to prepare official VTA recommendations on development conditions and mitigation measures for said proposals;
• Tracks compliance with permit requirements or other regulatory agency conditions for projects;
• Plans, coordinates, reviews, directs, and oversees the work of multi-disciplinary professional and technical staff and/or consultants conducting complex and comprehensive environmental studies;
• Assists in the administration of VTA's Storm Water Management and Sustainability Programs;
• Assists in the development of policies, procedures, and projects that advance sustainability for VTA facilities and assets;
• Assists with the preparation of CEQA and NEPA environmental documents for large and complex planning, design, and construction projects and maintenance and operation of facilities;
• Acts as an advisor on environmental matters to VTA staff;
• Writes, organizes, prepares, reviews, and processes environmental documents, monitoring and reporting plans, complex technical reports, responses, and position statements for a variety of projects, including large and complex transportation-related projects and plans;
• Prepares mitigation monitoring and reporting plans/environmental commitment records;
• Reviews construction plans and specifications to ensure that environmental commitments are incorporated into contract documents;
• Tracks and documents compliance with project environmental commitments prior to, during, and following construction;
• Develops and manages environmental scopes of work, contracts, budgets, and schedules for capital projects;
• Assists with negotiating large-scale, high dollar-value consultant contracts;
• Oversees the work products of consultant staff, including quality control;
• Identifies and prepares necessary applications and acquires permits and authorizations from government agencies;
• Coordinates, organizes, and presents environmental matters before governing bodies, inter-agency committees, and public meetings;
• Performs related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications:

Employment Standards
Environmental Planner II: 
Development of the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is most typically obtained through training and experience equivalent to graduation from an accredited college or university with a four-year degree in environmental studies, natural or physical science, transportation or urban planning, or a related field, and one (1) year of experience in compliance or monitoring of environmental issues. (A Masters Degree in environmental, transportation, or urban planning or related discipline may be substituted for one year of the required experience).

Environmental Planner III:
Sufficient training, education, and experience to demonstrate possession of the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Development of the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is typically obtained through a combination of training and experience equivalent to a graduation from an accredited college or university with a four-year degree in environmental studies, natural or physical science, transportation or urban planning, or a related field, and four (4) years of increasingly responsible experience in environmental planning, including preparing and processing environmental documents for compliance with federal, state, and local environmental laws, regulations, and guidelines; managing related environmental compliance and mitigation programs; and reviewing environmental documents and development applications for project impact on transportation systems and/or facilities. (A Masters Degree in transportation or urban planning or related discipline may be substituted for one year of the required experience).

Knowledge of:
Environmental Planner II: 

• Concepts, principles, techniques and legal aspects of transportation planning;
• Research and statistical methods;
• Governmental organizations and operations;
• Community interrelationships;
• Basic supervision methods and principles;
• Project management methods and techniques;
• Some positions may require knowledge of travel processes using regional network systems and sensitivity analysis;
• Some positions may require system measures of capacity, congestion, levels of service and traffic engineering techniques.

Environmental Planner III: 

• CEQA and NEPA and associated environmental regulations as applicable to transportation projects;
• Methods of environmental assessment and mitigation;
• Technical aspects of environmental analysis and planning;
• General understanding of storm water laws and regulations;
• Regulatory agency permitting processes;
• Processes for cultural resources consultation;
• Land development regulations and procedures;
• Principles and practices of urban and transportation planning;
• Methods of sustainable business practices;
• Operation of common office equipment including personal computers and common software applications;
• Methods of collaborative problem solving.

Ability to:
Environmental Planner II: 

• Analyze issues and numerical measures associated with transportation planning projects, including estimates derived from computer models, estimates of costs and benefits, and public input;
• Estimate and administer budgets for studies and schedule and manage planning projects;
• Perform analysis and make recommendations based on findings in studies, field observation, and public contacts;
• Write correspondence, Board memorandums, planning and technical reports, and fact sheets designed to be understood by all audiences, including the general public;
• Simultaneously manage multiple projects;
• Maintain project objective and integrity when conflicting interests may influence the project outcome;
• Resolve conflicts between contractors and VTA on the interpretation of contractor project responsibilities;
• Communicate effectively, both written and verbally;
• Establish and maintain effective relations with those contacted in the course of work.

Environmental Planner III:

• Effectively plan, organize, and oversee major projects and programs;
• Successfully manage and complete multiple projects concurrently;
• Effectively lead, train, and direct lower level staff and consultants;
• Communicate complex information and strategies, both orally and in writing, to both technical and non-technical audiences;
• Interpret maps, engineering drawings, and technical reports;
• Establish procedures, standards, schedules, and priorities;
• Effectively coordinate problem-solving efforts and resolve issues with planning, design engineering, construction, and facilities personnel, as well as consultants, contractors, and regulatory agencies;
• Prepare, review, and evaluate technical reports and documents for accuracy, project-specific and programmatic applicability, legal sufficiency, and consistency with VTA policies and the policies of our partner agencies;
• Develop and maintain cooperative-working relationships with those contacted in the course of work including professional, governmental, and community officials.

The Department of Planning and Development is currently recruiting for one Senior Planner vacancy:

This Senior Planner will play a crucial role in reviewing complex professional-level tasks related to land use and planning laws, zoning, housing, discretionary entitlements with associated report writing for consideration by the County Zoning Administrator and/or Planning Commission, and the review of building permits and environmental analysis under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Senior Planner will also serve as the lead on assigned projects, which may include overseeing a number of programs (examples include: County General Plan & Housing Element, Surface Mining and Reclamation Act, Santa Clara Valley Ag Plan, and Habitat Plan) and works independently, assuming responsibility for more complex projects (such as Stanford master planning), and must be resourceful and responsive to specialized assignments from Executive Management or the Board of Supervisors. The Senior Planner may also be responsible for reviewing development and parcel maps/subdivision proposals, as well as building plans, and permits. The County will be embarking upon a comprehensive General Plan Update, and other various vision plans and may be expected to oversee and manage these efforts. The County also processes large and complex private development applications for large private institutional uses, new quarries, places of worship and agricultural processing campuses. A Senior Planner with areas of expertise related to long-range/comprehensive planning and/or major project development processing experience, coupled with strong CEQA experience is desired. 

In addition to meeting the employment standards for a Senior Planner, candidates must possess in-depth knowledge and working experience in two (2) or more of the following areas:

• Preparing advanced California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) documents (e.g., Initial Studies, Mitigated Negative Declarations, Environmental Impact Reports).
• Experience in complex medium- to large-scale development entitlement projects such as campus planning, industrial, commercial, housing, agricultural housing or processing developments, or similar projects requiring advanced CEQA processing, staff report writing, data management and analysis, public outreach and public hearings.
• Experience in the management of CEQA and technical consultants, including meeting coordination, reviewing work products, and contracting/billing. Experience in managing consultants to ensure the project is completed within the approved timeline and budget with the proper deliverable is required.
• General requirements of the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA), preparation of annual surface mining inspection reports, and review and approval of Financial Assurance Cost Estimate (FACE), Reclamation Plans, and Mining Plans (desired, not required).
• Analytical understanding of State laws and regulations impacting land use and local government, with directly related work products that include major ordinance revisions and creation and processing of new programs. This would include preparation of professional staff reports of summarized data, conclusions and recommendations.
• Have conducted as a lead project manager or co-project manager long-range, comprehensive planning projects; e.g., general plan updates, major zoning ordinance amendments, specific plans, vision plans, etc., with working knowledge of the principals and practices of such working documents.

Filing Period and Application Procedure

Final Filing Date: Open until filled. The recruitment may be extended or closed as early as 10 days after the issue date.  You are encouraged to apply as soon as possible and to monitor this site for updated closing information.

The first review of applications is tentatively scheduled for the week of August 04, 2025.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS POSITION, PLEASE CLICK THE JOB ANNOUCEMENT URL OR JOB PDF BELOW.