Assistant/Associate Planner

Job Description:

Assistant/Associate Planner

Description

Description

The Department:
The Community Development Department enhances the community’s safety, welfare, quality of life, and economic opportunities by providing advanced planning, development review, permitting and inspection services, as well as administration of programs related to affordable housing. The Planning Division reviews current development proposals for conformance with the City's adopted policies and ordinances and plays a key role in supporting economic development and ensuring opportunities for the public to participate in land development activity in Santa Clara. For more information about the Community Development Department, please visit the department website .

The Positions:
Assistant Planner
Responsibilities include providing support to the Permit Center, demonstrating good diplomatic skills in dealing with the general public and staff, as well as making decisions and acting within general guidelines in the role of a project planner. This classification is distinguished from the Associate Planner by the performance of the less complex, more routine professional tasks and duties assigned to positions within this series.

Associate Planner
This classification is flexibly staffed with the lower classification of Assistant Planner. Appointment or promotion is based on the employee's demonstrated ability to perform the full range of duties and meet the qualification standards for the class, including those that require knowledge of performing routine to complex planning duties in the administration of land use regulations, the City's General Plan, environmental review, and design review. Depending on area of expertise, an Associate Planner may be primarily assigned to one or more of the following specialties: current planning, advanced or long-range planning, architectural review, transportation planning, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping, or database development.

Additional Information:
Applications must be filled out completely (e.g. do not write “see resume, NA, or personnel file.”). To receive consideration for the screening process, candidates must submit a 1) Cover Letter and, 2) Resume. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Application packets may be submitted online through the “Apply Now” feature on the job announcement at www.santaclaraca.gov . This position is continuous or open until filled: Applications will be reviewed on a bi-weekly basis for consideration to the position. If you are interested in applying you are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, before the position is closed.

THIS RECRUITMENT MAY BE USED TO FILL MULTIPLE POSITIONS IN THIS, OR OTHER DIVISIONS OR DEPARTMENTS BESIDES THE POSITIONS LISTED BELOW. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN EMPLOYMENT IN THIS CLASSIFICATION, YOU SHOULD APPLY TO ENSURE YOU ARE CONSIDERED FOR ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT MAY UTILIZE THE APPLICANTS FROM THIS RECRUITMENT. MEETING THE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS DOES NOT GUARANTEE ADMITTANCE INTO THE EXAMINATION PROCESS. ONLY THE MOST QUALIFIED CANDIDATES WHO DEMONSTRATE THE BEST COMBINATION OF QUALIFICATIONS IN RELATION TO THE REQUIREMENTS AND DUTIES OF THE POSITION WILL BE INVITED TO TEST OR INTERVIEW.

The annual salary range for the Assistant Planner position is $100,109.88 - $127,482.24. The annual salary range for the Associate Planner position is $118,485.96 - $151,171.32. These positions may be filled at or near the minimum of the salary range.

Typical Duties

Follow this link to view the entire Class Specification for Assistant Planner, which includes more information on Typical Duties and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

Follow this link to view the entire Class Specification for Associate Planner , which includes more information on Typical Duties and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

Minimum Qualifications

Assistant Planner
Minimum Requirements:
• Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university in Urban and Regional Planning, Environmental Studies, Architecture, or closely related field;
• Six (6) months of experience in a position with public contact, including customer service, complaint resolution, public education, or policy analysis

Acceptable Substitution:
None.

Desirable Qualifications:
• Paraprofessional or internship experience in public or private sector.
• Computer proficiency in mapping programs, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) or permitting software, such as Accela.

Associate Planner
Minimum Requirements:
• Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university in Urban and Regional Planning, Environmental Studies, Architecture, or closely related field; and;
• Two (2) years of increasingly responsible professional municipal or regional planning experience performing duties similar to an Assistant Planner for the City of Santa Clara.

Acceptable Substitution:
• A Master's Degree from an accredited college or university in Urban and Regional Planning or closely related field may be substituted for one year of the required experience.

Desirable Qualifications:
• Computer proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), permit tracking and data tracking programs, such as Accela.
• Planning experience in a lead or supervisory capacity.

Candidates must attain a passing score on each phase of the examination process to qualify for the Eligible List. A department interview may be required prior to appointment.

Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of Santa Clara will not sponsor, represent, or sign documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

If applying for the Assistant Planner position, you may qualify for:

VETERAN’S PREFERENCE POINTS: This position qualifies for Veteran’s Preference Points. Applicants who have separated from service (Active Duty Status) must submit proof of honorable discharge (Form DD214) with their application at time of filing or will be ineligible to have points added to their final score.

If applying for the Associate Planner position, you may qualify for:
PERMANENT CITY EMPLOYEES PREFERENCE POINTS: Current permanent employee candidates who receive a passing score on the examination will have an additional five (5) points added to their final score.

Per Civil Service Rules, section 2.24, MORE THAN ONE PREFERENCE POINT PROGRAM: An applicant may use only one (1) preference point program and shall make his/her decision as to which preference point program he/she desires to utilize at the time he/she submits his/her application.

The City of Santa Clara is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. The City of Santa Clara is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at (408) 615-2080 or HumanResources@santaclaraca.gov .

City of Santa Clara Benefit Summary Overview for Bargaining Unit #5, 7, & 8
Employees Association

This summary provides a brief overview of the City of Santa Clara's benefits available to Bargaining Unit #5, 7, & 8 employees in 2024. In the event of any conflict between the information in this summary and the applicable official plan documents, City Manager's Directives (CMDs), Personnel and Salary Resolution, or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the applicable official plan documents, CMDs, Personnel and Salary Resolution, or MOU will prevail over this summary. Benefits are subject to change.
Retirement:

• Membership in the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS)
  • Classic Employees: 2.7% @ age 55 formula - employee pays 8.00% of gross pay, minus $61 bi-weekly
  • New Employees: 2.0% @ age 62 formula - employee pays 7.00% of gross pay

Medicare and Social Security (FICA)

• Employee pays 6.20% up to $10,397.40(Social Security) and 1.45% (Medicare) of gross pay

Health Insurance:

• City contribution up to 90% of the Kaiser Family premium per month, based on enrollment in a CalPERS health plan
• Employees electing health coverage with premiums above the City health contribution will pay additional premium costs from salary on a pre-tax basis
• The City’s contribution is prorated based on scheduled hours for part time employees
• Coverage is effective as early asthe first day of the monthafter date of hire
• If an employee enrolls in a plan with a monthly premium that is less than $946.86, they will be paid the difference in cash
• Employees hired on or after 1/1/2022 who opt-out of City-offered health insurance and provide annual attestation and acceptableproof of alternative required coverage for themselves and their tax family, if applicable, are eligible for a cash-in-lieu amount of $250/month. Contact Human Resources for more details

Dental Insurance:

• Choice of two Delta Dental plans; enrollment is mandatory
• City pays lowest cost employee only plan; additional cost is paid by employee
• Coverage is effective as early asthe first day of the monthafter date of hire

Vision Insurance:

• Choice of two VSP plans
• City pays lowest cost employee only plan; additional cost is paid by employee
• Coverage is effective as early asthe first day of the monthafter date of hire

Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA):

• City contributes $50.00 a month toward employee's VEBA account
• Account funds may be used to pay for qualified medical expenses after separation from the City and after age 50 (pre-tax)

Life Insurance:

• City pays for $15,000 of Basic Life Insurance coverage
• Coverage is effective the first of the month after one calendar month of employment
• Additional optional insurance may be purchased by the employee for the employee, spouse, domestic partner, and/or dependent children

State Disability Insurance (SDI):

• Employee pays 1.1% of gross pay (includes Paid Family Leave)
• 7 day waiting period. Weekly paid leave for absences due to non-work related injuries/illnesses. Benefit is based on past earnings. Refer to edd.ca.gov for more information

Paid Family Leave (PFL):

• Up to 8 weeks of benefits within a 12-month period to care for a family member or to bond with a new child
• No waiting period. Weekly paid leave benefit. Benefit is based on past earnings. Refer to edd.ca.gov for more information

Long Term Disability (LTD) Insurance:

• Benefit is 2/3 of basic wage up to $7,500; max of $5,000/month
• City pays $.558/$100 of insured earnings
• 30 calendar day waiting period
• Coverage is effective the first of the month after one calendar month of employment

Deferred Compensation:

• Voluntary plan through Nationwide Retirement Solutions
• Employee may contribute up to the lesser of the IRS maximum or100% of gross compensation into a pre-tax 457(b) account or a post-tax Roth 457(b) account (or a combination of the two accounts) subject to IRS rules

Flexible Spending Account (IRS Section 125 Plan):

• Employee may contribute up to $3,200per year in pre-tax dollars to a health care spending account
• Employee may contribute up to $5,000 per year in pre-tax dollars to a dependent care spending account
• Employee may contribute up to $315per month in pre-tax dollars to a commuter benefit plan

Vacation:

• Vacation is accrued bi-weekly, cannot use vacation during first 6months of City service
  • For 1 -4 years of service: 10 days (80 hours)/year
  • For 5 -9 years of service: 15 days (120 hours)/year
  • For 10 - 15 years of service: 21 days (168 hours)/year
  • For 16 - 20 years of service: 22 days (176 hours)/year
  • For 21+ years of service: 24 days (192 hours)/year

Maximum vacation accrual is 420 hours Once per year, employees can elect to convert up to 40 hours of accrued vacation to cash to be paid out the following calendar yearSick Leave:

• Sick leave is accrued bi-weekly for equivalent of 96 hours per calendar year with no maximum accrual
  • Up to 48 hours/year of accumulated sick leave may be used for family illness
  • Up to 40 hours/year of accumulated sick leave may be used for personal leave

Employee may convert sick leave to vacation once per calendar year (annual maximum conversion is 96 hours sick to 48 hours vacation) Partial sick leave payoff provision on retirement depending on years of serviceNon-Management Leave:

• 24 hours of non-management leave credited to employees each January 1st
  • New employees hired between January 1st and June 30th receive 24 hours of non-management leave their first year
  • New employees hired between July 1st and December 31st receive 12 hours of non-management leave their first year
  • Unused non-management leave may not be carried over from one calendar year to the next

Compensatory Time Off (CTO):

• Employees may accrue CTO in lieu of overtime hours (maximum accrual is set by department)
• 16 hours of CTO is credited to employees each January 1st (prorated if hired after January 1st)

Holidays:

• Seventeen paid eight-hour holidays per year (13 & 4 holidays between 12/25 to 1/1 of following year)

Reimbursements/Allowances (for specific classifications):

• Raingear: $150 per fiscal year for eligible classifications
• Safety Boots: $275per fiscal year for eligible classifications
• Walking Shoes: $120 per fiscal year for eligible classifications (See MOU for details)
• Tools: $500 per fiscal year reimbursement for Auto Foreperson classification
• Phone allowance of $80/month for Senior Key Customer Representative(s) and Key Customer Representative(s) job classifications

Bilingual Pay:

• Certified bilingual employees are eligible for $55/bi-weekly bilingual pay

Night Differential Pay:

• Librarians and library support employees whose regular assignments are to City libraries are eligible for 5.0% night differential pay for all hours worked between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. so long as they work a minimum of 2 consecutive hours between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m.
• All other employees are eligible for 5.0% night differential pay for all hours worked between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00a.m. so long as they work a minimum of 2 consecutive hours between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.

Standby Pay:

• Employees in the classification of Electric Utility Programmer Analyst, Electric Utility Network Administrator, and Senior Energy Systems Analyst are eligible for standby pay of $100/week when assigned to work standby

Tuition Reimbursement Program:

• Up to $2,000 per fiscal year for tuition reimbursement

Employee Assistance Program:

• Confidential counseling to employees and dependents. Up to maximum of five (5) consultations per family member per incident per year
• City paid benefit

Retiree Medical Reimbursement Program:

• Employees who retire from the City with at least ten (10) years of service shall receive reimbursement to help cover retiree single health insurance premiums. The reimbursement maximum includes the PEMHCA minimum.
• Up to age 65, retirees are eligible for reimbursement up to $416/month in 2024(amount adjusted annually)
• After age 65, retirees are eligible for reimbursement up to $249/month in 2024(amount adjusted annually)

Salary:

$100,109.88 - $127,482.24 Annually