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Principal Planner

The City of Sunnyvale is seeking a Principal Planner to join the Community Development Department.  Under the direction of the Assistant Director of Community Development or Planning Officer, the Planning Division is organized into teams which are overseen by Principal Planners who plan, direct, perform and supervise a variety of complex technical planning activities, and related work as required, relative to the assigned area of responsibility.

• The Current Planning Team reviews and acts or makes recommendations on planning applications and performs reviews of building permit applications and business licenses for zoning compliance. 
• The Administrative Support Team supports the Planning Officer and all Planners for the City. This position may act as the Zoning Administrator, overseeing regulatory processes and issues related to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and other regulatory compliance and requirements, process improvements, training needs, coordination with area governments and other administrative and supervisory functions. 
• The Policy Planning Team works on study issues, new area plans, and General Plan updates, conducting intergovernmental reviews of other agencies' proposals and pending legislation.

The City of Sunnyvale provides an excellent benefits package.  A complete application packet will consist of a City of Sunnyvale employment application and responses to the required supplemental questions. The final filing date is Monday, May 11, at 5:00 pm. For complete information regarding this opportunity, please visit: Sunnyvale.ca.gov.

Salary: $153,784 - $192,230 Annually

CAREER OPPORTUNITY IN OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AS A SENIOR PLANNER

Starting Rate of Pay at $39.96 per hour, paid bi-weekly. 26 pay periods per year

$6,926 - $8,420 per month,  $ 83,116 - $101,046 per year

EXCELLENT BENEFIT PACKAGE

https://www.ceres.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8155/City-of-Ceres-2026-Benefit-Guide-

https://content.stancera.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/T6-SUMMARY.pdf

SENIOR PLANNER

Class specifications are intended to present a descriptive list of the range of duties performed by employees in the class. Specifications are not intended to reflect all duties performed within the job.

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Under general supervision, performs a variety of professional planning responsibilities and tasks associated with the coordination and implementation of complex planning projects; performs a variety of duties relating to the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of technical land use, environmental, zoning, and other City planning data.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

This is the advanced journey level in the professional planning class series. The position is characterized by the level of technical expertise and skill and independent oversight of out of the ordinary, high profile, complex and atypical projects, while functioning as the project coordinator, working with and leading interdisciplinary teams. The Senior Planner is distinguished from the Associate Planner by the complexity and technical expertise required to work on assigned projects.

REPRESENTATIVE DUTIES

The following duties are typical for this classification. Incumbents may not perform all of the listed duties and/or may be required to perform additional or different duties from those set forth below to address business needs and changing business practices.

1. Coordinate, lead, and perform professional level work in the fields of current and advanced planning, zoning administration, design review, and economic development activities.
2. Prepare, edit, and review complex reports on a wide range of planning issues; make presentations to the City Council, Planning Commission, standing and ad hoc committees, developers, community groups, and outside agencies.
3. Review and approve or deny plan checks for building projects.
4. Supervise and participate in the review of complex development proposals for conformance to City standards; resolve disputes between the City and developers or property owners.
5. Review and edit letters sent by the Planning Division regarding various City actions.
6. Review and respond to referrals from other agencies regarding outside projects that may affect the City.
7. Conduct field visits and site assessments.
8. Take phone calls and inquiries from the public and other agencies; provide assistance to walk in customers at the counter.
9. Participate in the development and implementation of the City’s planning policies.
10. Assist in the training of assigned staff.
11. Undertake special projects as assigned.
12. Attend and participate in professional group meetings; maintain awareness of new trends and developments in the field of municipal planning; incorporate new developments as appropriate into programs.
13. Attend a variety of meetings, including Planning Commission meetings and predevelopment meetings; provide support to advisory bodies.
14. Perform related duties as required.

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.

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