Reorganization aims to relieve Planning and Building

Additionally, supervisors authorized the board chair to sign a resolution that instructs county staff to look into improvements in Planning and Building's development review process. 

These changes and directive are the latest in the county’s efforts to improve Planning and Building operations, which became a topic of investigation in the county’s 2022-23 Grand Jury report. 

Moving Airports and Cemeteries 

The Chief Administrative Office oversaw the Airports and Cemeteries divisions before they were reassigned to Planning and Building in 2020. Now that Airports and Cemeteries will fall back to the CAO’s responsibility, supervisors questioned how they will be better managed this time around. 

“Having it in the CAO’s Office never really set a true course for those two areas, so what is going to be different this time?” District 1 Supervisor John Hidahl asked. 

Chief Administrative Officer Tiffany Schmid commented that the CAO’s Office would address policy issues in both areas. Schmid noted previous deputy chief administrative officer Creighton Avila was in charge of both programs. Avila was reassigned to the Planning and Building Department in 2020 and his duties followed. He left almost as soon as his transfer occurred, Schmid said. 

“I think the intent was good but it just didn’t materialize the way it was intended,” Schmid said. 

The county currently oversees 17 cemeteries, all funded through the county’s General Fund. The county has two airports that are supposed to be enterprise-funded services, meaning they are supposed to be self-funded, which Schmid said has not been the case.

Deputy CAO Jennifer Franich will take on the duties of overseeing both departments. She said staff would return to the board with a staffing plan and a setup for Cemeteries and Airports when the county’s 2024-2025 recommended budget comes into discussion later this year. 

On the topic of the county’s cemeteries, Franich said while the Facilities Division of the CAO provides some maintenance for cemeteries, the division has “continually constrained resources,” and recommended maximizing its internal resources as much as possible. 

The supes all seemed to be in agreement that a change was needed.

“There’s been tensions between the Cemetery Division and Facilities about the maintenance,” District 4 Supervisor Lori Parlin said. “Cemeteries are specialized in my mind. They do need different types of maintenance than just regular parks, which I want to be mindful of moving forward so those details are not lost.” 

At Lake Tahoe

“The South Lake Tahoe office is really broken,” District 5 Supervisor Brooke Laine said. “It does not function properly. It is not staffed sufficiently and a lot of the decisions that are made are made down here on the West Slope.”

The statement from Laine summarized her views on issues at the Planning and Building’s Tahoe office. She noted smaller projects, kitchen remodels for example, are taking at least a year to get permitted. Additionally, such projects are also being directed to the West Slope for approval, slowing and confusing permitting processes in the Tahoe area. 

“We don’t even have anyone at the front counter when someone walks into the Planning and Building Department,” Laine said. “These are just examples of the lack of completeness that I believe the (Tahoe) Basin residents deserve as far as effective and efficient permit processing.

“I just want to support Planning and Building by taking a look at how this infrastructure can work better, and how we can be better at servicing our residents,” Laine added. 

Some supervisors questioned whether a partnership with the city of South Lake Tahoe would be possible to address the department's shortcomings in the Tahoe Basin. Conceptually, the board approved to look into those recommendations and explore other possible solutions to improve the office’s effectiveness. 

A new resolution

Supervisors approved a new resolution that spells out a series of goals meant to improve the county's Planning and Building processing of permit applications and increase communication between all stakeholders and other county departments. The resolution also calls for a review of the department's TRAKiT system, reviewing work environment and workload and setting standards and performance measures for the department.

“I thought the resolution was very well-written,” Hidahl said. “It completely defines the things that I think we need to look at and that is through detailed conversation.” 

The full resolution can be viewed on the county’s legistar website at eldorado.legistar.com.