Planner, Associate / Planner, Assistant, Regular and Limited Duration

City of Eugene • Eugene, OR

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The City of Eugene’s Land Use Planning team is hiring an Assistant/Associate Planner to help turn our community vision into reality. The successful candidate will be a positive, solution-oriented, and collaborative individual, who values providing excellent service to the community and thrives in a highly productive team environment. This full-time, regular position will be primarily responsible for reviewing development proposals/land use applications from routine to more complex (for example: property line adjustments, legal lot review, zone changes, land divisions, and code/plan amendments), as well as providing public information regarding the Eugene land use code. This position supports continually evolving our processes and services (including customer service, written communications, technology, and processes). Many aspects of the position also involve working closely with the public, ranging from general inquiries to facilitating meetings with development professionals, neighborhood representatives, committees, and other interest groups. This posting may also be used to hire a second Limited Duration Assistant/Associate Planner with job duties in both the Community Planning & Design team and the Land Use Planning team. The Limited Duration Assistant/Associate Planner will contribute to a dynamic mix of long range planning projects, such as policy development, community engagement, land use code updates, and growth monitoring, as well as working with the Land Use team on needed projects such as middle housing land division applications. A major portion of the Community Planning and Design team’s work plan is advancing Urban Growth Strategies (UGS) – a multi-year, collaborative effort that integrates state-required urban growth planning, equitable community engagement, and City Council-directed policy work. For both positions, the City of Eugene is looking for a self-motivated, dynamic planner with a track record of excellent communication; a commitment to meaningful public involvement; and the ability to formulate elegant, sensible solutions to complex challenges. Successful candidates will have strong land use planning experience and a firm commitment to implementation that supports the community’s vision. Eugene’s Planning office is an active and dynamic place where we regularly interact with other work groups, city departments, partner agencies, and all parts of the Eugene community. While things can change quickly, the work group is fun, resilient, and accustomed to adapting to new circumstances in pursuit of the future community we all want to live in. This is your opportunity to help create a more connected, compact, and livable Eugene! This position is hiring for one full time Planner, Assistant or Associate; and one Limited Duration (LD) f ull time Planner, Assistant or Associate.

Requirements

• One year of professional planning experience.
• Equivalent to a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in urban and regional planning, architecture, landscape architecture or a closely related field.
• Must pass a background check.
• Three years of professional planning experience.
• Equivalent to a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in urban and regional planning, architecture, landscape architecture, or a related field.
• Must pass a background check.

Nice To Haves

• A Master’s degree in a planning-related field is desirable

Responsibilities

• Analyzes and evaluates land use applications, building permit and development proposals; prepares appropriate public notices; evaluate data interprets applicable laws, codes, and ordinances, and makes appropriate recommendations; coordinates reviews and negotiations with other City departments (land use applications include, but are not limited to, land use permits, land divisions, and annexations).
• Identifies and resolves critical issues affecting the feasibility and success of various development proposals and land use applications.
• Occasionally prepares staff and planning-related reports for the City Council, Planning Commission, Hearings Official, and other committees and advisory boards; makes presentations as required.
• Answers questions and provides information to the public; investigates complaints and recommends corrective action as necessary to resolve concerns regarding the City's planning functions.
• Serves as a public contact on land use planning topics and inquiries.
• Prepares maps, charts, and graphs for a variety of land use applications and planning projects; prepares initial studies and designs for land use applications, annexation and other related reports.
• Compiles and analyzes information and make recommendations on community plans and special studies.
• Researches and drafts ordinances for review; processes amendments to the City zoning ordinances, other land use development ordinances, and the Metropolitan Area General Plan, and community plans.
• Confers with and advises engineers, developers, architects, attorneys, and the general public regarding City development requirements and planning policies and standards; coordinate City's response on land use applications, zoning, and other planning related matters; negotiates and resolves related conflicts that arise.
• Collects, records and summarizes statistical and demographic information; establishes and maintains a comprehensive database.
• Serves on departmental or interdepartmental staff teams and a variety of city committees.
• Conducts planning studies in the community to gather data for evaluating planning projects.
• May serve as project manager for complex land use applications, studies and planning projects.
• May conduct field investigations to assess project conformity with plans and policies; makes recommendations for corrective action.
• Develops promotional and informational materials to provide information to the general public regarding planning division programs, procedures, and related City ordinances, codes, plans, and other standards.
• Makes presentations regarding general planning issues, or specialized planning policies and procedures to neighborhood groups, educational, civic, and professional organizations and other groups.
• May review complex development proposals and work with developers to reach agreement on acceptable site plans; reviews various development applications for compliance with appropriate regulations and policies; prepares reports and recommendations.
• May provide technical land use assistance to external professionals and technical staff.
• Assist with the planning and hosting of community engagement opportunities
• May be responsible for the selection, supervision and evaluation of temporary staff or interns; assigns work and ensures appropriate training is provided.
• Ensures implementation of and adherence to the City’s Affirmative Action and Diversity Work Plans.
• Facilitates staff development on such issues as diversity and creating a respectful working environment.
• Performs all the duties listed for the Assistant Planner role above.
• Regularly prepares and presents staff and planning-related reports to the City Council, Planning Commission, Hearings Official, and other committees and advisory boards.
• Operates with a high degree of independence while serving as project manager for complex land use applications, studies and planning projects.
• Provide lead worker guidance on land use topics to assistant planners and other City departments.
• Compile and analyze information and make recommendations on community plans and special studies.
• Perform precise technical analysis, comfortable with varied levels of detail.
• Interpret and write findings for statewide planning goals and rules.
• Communicate complex information to a wide variety of audiences in various formats.
• Develop informational materials for the general public regarding Planning Division projects, and related City ordinances, codes, plans, and other standards.
• Conduct planning studies and gather data for evaluating planning projects.
• Research and assist in drafting ordinances to amend zoning, other land use development standards, the comprehensive plan, or other community plans.
• Prepare maps, charts, spreadsheets and graphs for a variety of planning projects and presentations.
• Collect, record, and summarize statistical and demographic information; establish and maintain records and databases.
• Serve as project manager or staff team member on complex planning projects.
• Manage or serve as lead for a program, committee, or higher-level project.
• Make presentations regarding a variety of planning issues, or specialized planning projects to neighborhood, educational, civic, and professional groups.
• Assist with the planning and hosting of community engagement events; may hire and supervise interns.
• Potential to participate in Planning Division teams and a variety of City committees.
• Actively supports and respects diversity in the workplace.
• Performs related and other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Bilingual Pay Benefit: This position qualifies for up to an additional 5% of base salary for bilingual pay.
• Non-Represented Retirement Program: Upon eligibility, the City will contribute an employee contribution of 6%, as well as the employer contribution, to a retirement program administered by the Oregon Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS). In addition, the City will pay a 3% contribution to a deferred compensation program if the employee contributes at least 1%.
• From January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2034, most retirees may work for a PERS-participating employer for an unlimited number of hours while continuing to receive their pension benefit based on HB 2296.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level