Staff proposes streamlining development review; commission asks about staff capacity

Planning staff reviewed a proposed change to the county's three-step development review process intended to make the concept stage less detailed and move environmental, traffic and other technical reviews to the detailed site plan stage so projects arrive at the commission with fewer outstanding conditions.

"What we have done, we have kept it a 3 step process, but we have looked at making concept exactly what it is, a concept plan to be reviewed once by staff and to be completed," the administrator said, describing the intent to have most reviews (stormwater, wetlands, MDE permits, critical area referrals, traffic analysis and health department reviews) completed or substantially advanced before Planning Commission review.

Staff told commissioners the change should not increase total work but would shift work into different steps and stagger submittals to avoid clustering reviews; staff said they vetted the approach with several developers who did not express concerns. Commissioners asked whether staff has capacity to handle technical reviews in that new sequence; staff said it would ease pressure by staggering reviews and help avoid multiple plans all due at the same time.

Commissioners asked where soil conservation review fits in the new sequence; staff said soil conservation reviews would occur at the detailed site plan stage alongside transportation and other listed reviews.