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Planning commission urges county to hire permit project manager to finish Baker Tilly reforms
Summary
The county planning commission told the Transportation and Planning Committee that fewer than half of Baker Tilly's 51 process recommendations are complete and urged the county to assign or hire a cross-department project manager to implement outstanding reforms and improve applicant support.
The Alameda County Planning Commission told supervisors on Oct. 6 that progress on 51 recommendations from the Baker Tilly development-process review has lagged and urged the county to assign or hire a project manager to coordinate permit work across planning, building, environmental health and fire departments.
Mark Crawford, chair of the Planning Commissionpermit-streamlining subcommittee, said the commission reviewed staff progress on a subset of recommendations and found inconsistent answers in staff spreadsheets and email responses. "The status quo is not acceptable," Crawford said, arguing that recommendations 6, 7 and 9 (which call for early issue identification, checklists and a project-manager role) are central to solving recurring delays.
Crawford told the committee the county has implemented some customer-focused toolsa development guide and checklistsbut that reliance on the online portal alone does not replace human guidance for applicants who are not land-use experts. He said the subcommittee was surprised to learn a consultant (M Group) was hired in late 2024 to help implement some changes and recommended that the consultant present to the Planning Commission or TMP about progress.
Supervisors generally supported the recommendation for a project manager or permit-concierge role. Planning staff said some implementation steps (checklists, a development guide, portal improvements) were underway and that M Group is expected to finish major work by the end of the year and into early 2026. Staff and commissioners debated whether the project-manager position should sit in planning, the Community Development Agency or the County Administratorseveral speakers said placement in the CAO would give the role necessary cross-department authority.
Action taken: The committee moved and voted to ask the County Administrator to resolve the project-manager needeither by assigning an analyst or hiring dedicated staffand to direct planning to provide detailed spreadsheets and timelines to the Planning Commission and committee to track outstanding recommendations.
