Principal Planner

Full Job Description

The County of Riverside's Transportation and Land Management Agency (TLMA) Planning Department has an exciting opportunity for a Principal Planner.

Under general direction, assists in planning, organizing and managing a group of professional and support personnel in a specialized planning section or district office; performs other related duties as required.

The Principal Planner classification is allocated and characterized by the responsibility of managing and coordinating the activities of a major section within a planning division, a combination of smaller planning sections, a district office, or an outreach program.

Incumbents direct these activities through subordinate personnel and report to the Planning Director or other management level position.

The Principal Planner is distinguished from the Planning Director in that the latter manages the Planning Department.

Key Responsibilities
•Manage and review complex and sensitive entitlement proposals and planning applications.
•Conduct research, analysis, and oversight of concept plans, feasibility studies, environmental documents, and other planning-related reports.
•Provide land use interpretations and decisions consistent with the General Plan and Zoning Ordinance, while establishing clear processes for implementation.
•Lead, mentor, and evaluate planning staff, ensuring balanced workloads and high-quality performance.
•Serve as a planning liaison to appointed and elected officials, providing expertise to resolve complex planning matters.
•Prepare and deliver reports and presentations to decision-making bodies, community groups, and stakeholders.

Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate will be a knowledgeable and resourceful planning professional with the ability to navigate high-profile and technically complex projects. Competitive candidates will demonstrate:
•Knowledge of State laws, guidelines, and local ordinances pertaining to planning and development.
•Knowledge of environmental protection regulations, including the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
•Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher).
•A working understanding of thematic mapping tools such as ArcGIS or SketchUp.
•Strong writing and editing skills to prepare reports, studies, and presentations.
•The ability to conduct independent research, perform analysis, and evaluate complex technical documentation related to planning.
•Professional planning experience in California is highly desired, especially experience applying California land use laws, managing entitlement applications, ensuring CEQA compliance, and coordinating with California public agencies and stakeholders.

Meet the Team!
The Planning Department is responsible for Riverside County's General Plan, a comprehensive long-range plan intended to guide the growth and development of unincorporated areas within the County. This department formulates growth management plans and zoning for the County.

Requirements

• Plan, organize, direct, and coordinate, directly or through subordinate lead personnel, the activities of a major section within a planning division, a combination of smaller planning sections, a district office, or participate in the development and review of division policies and goals, particularly as they affect the assigned section.

• Review and evaluate existing programs for overall effectiveness and efficiency in meeting division and section goals, initiating action for operational improvements as necessary.

• Review studies of ordinance amendments, policies and staff reports to ensure thoroughness of analyses, consistency with County requirements and legal compliance.

• Represent the department on committees and before civic and community groups, other County Departments, governmental agencies, environmental regulatory and permitting agencies, stakeholders, and the public; confer with property owners, developers and their representatives regarding the applicability and impact of County policies, ordinances and other regulations related to property development.

• Confer with staff regarding problems and progress in their functional areas and provide technical and administrative direction; interview and recommend the selection of prospective employees.

• Coordinate and assign personnel within the section; plan and conduct staff development and in-service training programs in operational procedures, and policy; review and evaluate the performance of subordinate personnel.

• Work with staff of other departments and regional and state agencies to exchange or clarify information used in developing regional land use and operating work plans; coordinate the design and execution of projects to ensure consistency.

• Compile data regarding section workloads, staffing levels and priorities for input in the department's program budget.

• Prepare, or delegate preparation of, reports and recommendations to all levels of County hearing bodies, including Director’s Hearing, Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.

• Make presentations to the Board of Supervisors, Planning Commission and other local, regional and state agencies on activities being conducted within the section as needed; respond to difficult public relations problems, investigate complaints or requests and recommend resolutions.

• Coordinate efforts to draft new ordinances and review existing ordinances pertaining to the Planning Department, as needed.

• Participate in the analysis of proposed or adopted legislation to determine the potential or actual impacts to the County, on implementation.

Qualifications

Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in planning, transportation planning, public administration, geography (with related course concentration), architecture, environmental sciences, landscape architecture, or a closely related field.

(Additional qualifying experience may substitute for the required education on the basis of one year of full-time experience equaling 30 semester or 45 quarter units of the required education.)

Experience: Four years of professional environmental planning, land use planning and/or transportation planning experience which must have included performing at least two kinds of the following planning activities associated with a planning agency: comprehensive, regional, area, or community planning; plan/proposal review; general plan amendments; zoning, land division; information services; urban renewal; planning administration or transportation planning.

One year of experience must have been in a lead or supervisory capacity.

(A master's degree in planning or transportation planning, or a closely related field may substitute for the one year of the required supervisory experience.)

Other Requirements:
License/Certificate: Possession of a valid California Driver's License is required. This position involves travel to various locations throughout the county to visit various project sites and attend meetings.

Knowledge of: The principles of good organization and decision making, management and supervision; the principles, methods and procedures applicable to land use or transportation planning activities; the physical, social, environmental, and economic implications of land use or transportation planning; local, state and federal legislation governing land use development and transportation planning activities; research methods; general plan elements and factors that must be considered in evaluating land use or transportation proposals for consistency with these elements; the organizational structure and jurisdiction of governmental agencies involved in the planning process.

Ability to: Manage and coordinate the work of subordinate planners; plan and conduct any necessary training for subordinate staff; motivate and evaluate the work performance of subordinate personnel; collect and analyze data, generate and evaluate alternatives, reach logical conclusions, and formulate consistent recommendations; compose clear and thorough study reports and recommendations; orally present study findings and recommendations to a variety of public groups and governmental bodies; work effectively with the general public and community and governmental boards and commissions; ability to interpret and apply laws and regulations pertaining to planning projects and cases.

Additional Information

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