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Planning Department Presents Steady Two‑Year Budget; Preservation Staff Shifted to Citywide Survey
Summary
Planning Department staff presented a largely steady two‑year budget for 2019–2021, citing declining fee revenue and a mayoral temporary freeze on new positions; preservation staff described staffing reallocations to support a citywide survey funded in part by anticipated grants including a $45,000 CLG grant.
Planning Department leaders briefed the Historic Preservation Commission on the department’s proposed two‑year budget for fiscal years 2019–2021 and on historic preservation priorities.
Department leadership said the budget proposal anticipates a decline in fee-driven revenue tied to lower application volumes and noted the mayor’s request that departments refrain from including new positions at this phase of budget submissions. The department’s total proposed budget was presented as roughly unchanged from the current year at about $53.8 million, with a roughly $1 million reduction in fee revenue projected and grants estimated at about $2,000,000 for the first year of the biennium.
Deborah Landis, Deputy Director of Administration, outlined assumptions driving the budget figures: projected application volume declining from 16,650 last year to about 15,050 in the current projection; personnel costs expected to rise as a share of the budget (from about 67% to 72%); and a $300,000 reduction in the contracts line driven by delays to Civic Center project work. She also flagged moving expenses for a planned office relocation and modest capital needs (for example a $10,000 printer line item).
Tim Frey, preservation staff, described a plan to shift existing staff duties to capture approximately 0.5 full-time equivalent to work on a citywide historic resources survey while maintaining other program responsibilities. Frey explained that staff anticipates applying for a Certified Local Government (CLG) grant (maximum $45,000) and other funding to support the survey; he said staff also plans to pursue grants through Caltrans and other state/federal sources and may apply for Getty Foundation support for data management tools.
Commissioners asked for clarification about what the $2,000,000 grants line includes and whether specific portions are earmarked for preservation. Staff replied that grants are a mix of federal and state sources and that the CLG grant would be separate (though staff said some grant sources can be used across program areas depending on funder restrictions). Several commissioners pressed staff for sampling of past projects that avoided unavoidable CEQA impacts to historic resources and for more detail about how the commission’s comments would be relayed to the Planning Commission in an upcoming joint hearing.
Staff said the department will return with a more detailed work program and a revised draft at the next hearing on February 6, and that the budget will be submitted to the mayor’s office by February 21 with the Board of Supervisors finalizing the two‑year budget in July.
