Marin County planning staff propose narrower CDA work program after review finds major staffing and cost-recovery gaps

Sarah Jones, Marin County's director of the Community Development Agency, told the Planning Commission on March 24 that the department's proposed annual work program must be narrowed and prioritized because current staffing and fee-cost recovery structures do not support the full set of initiatives the public and board have requested.

Jones said CDA conducts an annual work program that focuses on policy initiatives and projects rather than permitting or entitlement review. "We do a work program annually," Jones said, and recent budget analysis showed the planning division accounts for roughly $5.5 million of CDA expenditures and carries a low cost-recovery target (about 50 percent) that limits capacity for policy work. She told commissioners that the department estimates roughly 15 staff are available for…