ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Planning With Common Sense

The Orange County Board of Supervisors did the right thing by reorganizing the county’s planning process. It will save the public money and refocus the five-member Planning Commission on more important issues such as habitat conservation and general development plans.

The board voted this week to turn over approval of routine building permits and plan changes to a zoning administrator. This process, which will not allow appeals to the Board of Supervisors, will dramatically streamline approval for remodelings, add-ons and other smaller projects. But there still will be plenty of oversight by local advisory boards and in public hearings.

The reorganization was precipitated by the differing nature of those recent permit requests due to the slowdown in the building industry. A staff report showed that more than half the items brought before the Planning Commission during a 21-month period did not warrant commission oversight. Having the commission handle them doubled the amount of staff time required in preparation work. That doubled the costs to applicants, who are required to pay full cost for staff work.

Because less time now will be needed for review, fee deposits for various permit requests and site plans will drop by half, to $1,900 and $1,000, respectively. That’s quite a savings.

Not everybody is happy about the change, however. The Planning Commission last month advised against the reorganization, and Commission Chairman Roger D. Slates this week reacted angrily to the board’s vote in favor of it. County staffers believe that commissioners, who are appointed by members of the Board of Supervisors, may interpret the reorganization as a criticism of their work. They say that’s not the case.

The move to a zoning administrator, which actually returns the county to a system used up until a few years ago, makes sense. It will save staff time and the public’s money. And it will allow the commission to focus its efforts on regional planning, environmental oversight and other more important issues. That’s a better use of the commission’s time and expertise.