San Bruno staff demonstrates Planning Projects Dashboard to publish permit applications and map projects

City staff demonstrated a new online Planning Projects Dashboard to the San Bruno Planning Commission, saying the tool will centralize information about active planning entitlement applications and give residents a searchable map and contact links for each project.

“We created what we’re calling the Planning Projects Dashboard,” City staff said, explaining the dashboard lists projects with color-coded statuses (new submittal, under review, approved, under construction, complete) and provides a map view and hyperlinks to project documents and the responsible planner.

The dashboard is designed to display most permit applications that go through the planning entitlement process; staff said routine sign permits and certain residential projects were intentionally excluded because signs turn over rapidly and residents raised privacy concerns about showing projects in residential zones during construction. “For projects in residential zones … we’re going to skip the period between under construction and complete … because … privacy concerns,” staff said.

Staff demonstrated search and filter features that let users search by street or parcel, filter by status, and click a project row to zoom the map and view associated documents. The dashboard also includes a notification sign-up for projects under review that collects interested persons’ contact information and places them on an update list.

Commissioners asked whether the dashboard could be embedded on sanbruno.ca or provided as a link, whether it would integrate with the Public Works map tools and the city’s public GIS, and whether it could support parcel and address lookups. Staff said the tool can link to the city website and can include parcel layers; Public Works uses a separate “story maps” configuration and staff will coordinate on integration options.

Several commissioners praised the dashboard as a transparency tool. One commissioner said the dashboard is “so accessible to the public” and welcomed staff’s plan to use social media and the city newsletter to announce the launch.

Staff cautioned the dashboard would not replace state reporting requirements. When asked whether the dashboard would satisfy state housing-element reporting, staff said it would not reduce the department’s reporting workload to state agencies; the dashboard is intended to improve public access and internal organization, not to substitute for formal state submissions.

Staff told the commission the dashboard is ready for commission feedback and proposed publishing it on the planning department’s web page (either embedded or as a trusted link to the dashboard provider). Staff said they had customized a commercial mapping product (Esri dashboard/story map functionality) to implement the features discussed and will proceed with publication after the commission’s feedback.

The commission opened a public-comment period on the dashboard; staff reported no public comments were received for this item.