Planning department introduces new staffer, outlines AI pilot to speed permit intake

During the director's report, the commission introduced Oscar Cepeda, who said he recently joined the county planning team from Porterville and brings roughly 10 years of experience in planning work. "I am honored and excited to join the Tulare County team," Cepeda told the commission.

Commission staff said Cepeda will help maintain processing capacity while planners focus on an update to the county general plan. Commissioners welcomed the hire as a way to keep day-to-day permit work moving.

Staff also reported on takeaways from a planning directors conference and described efforts to adopt artificial intelligence tools to speed permit intake and completeness checks. A planning official noted that larger jurisdictions have used expensive systems and that Tulare County is working with a startup partner to pilot a program. "We're jumping into that fold as well, probably 6 months away from launch of our program," the planning official said, and described the pilot as focused on intake completeness — using dropdown menus and automated checks so incoming applications are more likely to be complete before staff review.

Why it matters If the pilot succeeds, automated completeness checks could reduce back-and-forth with applicants and shorten the time between application submission and formal review, freeing staff to work on the county's general-plan update.

What’s next Staff said the pilot is under development with a startup partner and that the new planner will assist with ongoing permit processing; no formal vote or funding appropriation for the pilot was taken at the meeting.