Salinas finance committee urged to fund permit-staffing boost, ADU customer service ahead of planned growth

Community Development Director Lisa Brenton told the Salinas finance committee that the department will seek to convert a part-time senior planner to full time and create a dedicated ADU plan-check team to address rising permit volume and a string of large development applications in the city’s future growth area.

Brenton said the department received “3,600 permits, building permits alone. That doesn't include entitlements and 80% of those were residential permits,” and described a heavy workload that requires more senior technical staff and better internal coordination. “We have a freight train coming into the station,” she said, referring to 11 development applications already in the entitlement pipeline for the future growth area.

The presentation outlined three principal areas for near-term change: staffing, internal coordination and regulatory clarity. On staffing, Brenton proposed converting an already-approved half-time senior planner in the 2024–25 budget to a full-time role in 2025–26, with 50% of that position paid…