By Daily Press staff
Under heavy scrutiny and criticism in the past, City Hall’s planning department is reporting to be on time with approvals and has improved customer service.
The Santa Monica City Council last year hired a consultant for $75,000 to determine how the planning department could be more efficient.
Data collected by the department shows the city is meeting timeline goals. “We are very pleased to report that our four-week goal for single family home building permits and six-week goal for new multifamily/commercial construction have been met 100 percent of the time since October,” said Suzanne Frick, director of planning and community development.
Also, the decision to re-open City Hall every other Friday with limited staff appears to have been met by the public with open arms.
It’s proving helpful to applicants, their architects and particularly contractors who can get plans reviewed and site inspections completed in anticipation of the weekend. More than 130 additional customers were served on Jan. 7, the first Friday of the new schedule, and 253 on the second “light” Friday, Jan. 21, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Services available on the first floor of City Hall on the light Fridays are plan check, building and safety inspections; public works, building, film and preferential parking permits; and business license, permit fee and parking ticket payments. Additionally, the city’s water resources office at 1212 Fifth St., third floor, is now open every Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for water and sewer customers, and solid waste management staff is available at 458-8719 for contractors to contact refuse and recycling enclosures and at 458-8739 for construction and demolition waste management plans.
The planning and community development department has a Web site at www.smgov.net (click on City Departments Index), where users can find frequently updated information on planning projects, commission agendas, parking, historic preservation and more.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 2, 2005. Read the original PDF.