A plan to reorganize the Calvert County Department of Planning and Zoning will be presented Tuesday, Nov. 29 by Chuck Johnston, the department’s new director. The draft plan will be presented to the Calvert County Commissioners during an afternoon work session.
In a memo to the commissioners, Johnston said the reorganization plan will return to an organization format “based on process—with responsibilities divided between short-range or current planning and long-range or policy planning. I believe that this structure would provide a clearer delineation of planning functions and is intended to foster better communication among staff reviewing plans, reviewing permits, and enforcing ordinances and development conditions.”
Johnston was hired earlier this fall to succeed Greg Bowen, who retired at the end of June after 32 years with county government. The new director is proposing to keep the Division of Inspections and Permits, and the Board of Appeals as sections of the Department of Planning and Zoning. The other sections would be the Policy Division, which would be headed by Mary Beth Cook, the department’s current deputy director; and the Development Review Division. Yolanda Hipski, currently serving as planning commission administrator, would be the chief of the Development Review Division.
While Johnston’s proposal would be reorganization, it will not be a downsizing, since all 44 jobs within the department would remain. In fact, Johnston is proposing an additional post within the Development Review Division called “navigator.”
The navigator, stated Johnston, would head staff “devoted to helping applicants and their applications through the review process.”
Earlier this year, the commissioners indicated they wanted to see a reorganization plan for the department, which was pilloried by several county commissioner candidates during the 2010 campaign. Several candidates indicated the department needed to be more customer-friendly.
“I do not see this proposed structure as set in stone,” stated Johnston. “If after working a framework for a few months there prove to be areas in need of modifications, such changes can and will be made.”
Contact Marty Madden at
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