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Hamilton County unveils new planning department with $900,000 startup funding and public-facing tools
Summary
Acting director Mr. Janeway told commissioners the new Hamilton County Planning Department launched intake April 21, aims to be fully staffed by end of summer, and will publish applications and dashboards in an OpenGov portal to increase transparency.
Hamilton County officials said on July 1, 2026 that the newly formed Hamilton County Planning Department is operational, with staff in place, application intake online and a roughly $900,000 startup allocation to fund its work.
Acting interim director Mr. Janeway told commissioners the county voted to create a separate planning unit on March 18 and began accepting applications for zoning and plat cases on April 21. He said the county budget includes five positions for the department, two of which have been filled and additional recruitments and interviews are under way.
Janeway described public-facing steps the department is taking: a brand and website, an OpenGov portal that makes applications and comment threads visible, and planned dashboards to report school-capacity overlays, ISO/fire-response ratings, and road/intersection level-of-service data. "We're trying to build a collaboration with RPA," he said, referring to the region's planning agency, and noted that staff prepared materials for the July 13 planning commission cycle.
Commissioners praised the transparency measures and asked about timelines for full staffing and coordination with the school system and engineering teams. Janeway said the city must finalize an interjurisdictional agreement before the mayor can make a permanent appointment; in the interim he is acting as director.
Clarifying details in the meeting record included the department's five budgeted positions (two filled), the April 21 start for application intake, and an internal goal to be "fully staffed by the end of the summer." Commissioners urged staff to use the department's data tools to show impacts on schools, fire coverage and road capacity before zoning decisions come to the commission.
The new department will support implementation of Plan Hamilton and other countywide planning work; commissioners instructed staff to use the plan and subsequent zoning and subdivision rulemaking to implement the policy on technical matters.
