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Planning and Building lays out staffing, permitting reforms, coastal update and office move
Summary
Planning and Building Services reported staffing levels, a 19% vacancy rate, plans to replace its permit tracking software, ongoing scanning of records, the local coastal program update funded by state grants, and a move of the Fort Bragg office into the Avila Center.
Planning and Building Services Director Julia Krog and Assistant Director John Birx presented the department's 2025 priorities, staffing and operational reforms.
Krog said the department has 45 employees with a 19% vacancy rate (34 staff in Ukiah, nine in Fort Bragg and two remote planners). The department has shifted administrative front-counter staff under the building division and secured a new supervising permit technician classification. Krog said the chief planner position remains vacant and the department is reallocating duties until it can be filled.
Staff told the board the county's current permit tracking software is being retired by the vendor and the department expects a multiyear transition to a replacement. In the interim, the county is scanning historical records and expanding digital plan review using Bluebeam for electronic comments. Krog said the goal is improved customer service and to reduce the number of paper-based public-records requests.
The planning division is leading a major update of the county's Local Coastal Program (LCP). Krog said the department secured a nearly $2.2 million grant from the California Coastal Commission plus a separate sea-level-resilience planning grant; technical work and stakeholder outreach will continue through 2026. The department also flagged a zoning cleanup rezone for 239 Ukiah Valley parcels and an inland low-intensity camping regulation effort that will be on the board's February agenda.
Why this matters: Delays or changes to permit-tracking, staffing, and code updates affect development timelines, customer service, and implementation of coastal policies related to sea-level rise.
