INTRODUCTION
Santa Cruz County Code Chapter 18 (Procedures) enables the County to conduct Development Review Group (DRG) meetings before formal development applications are made for major projects, such as those which may go before the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. The “DRG” is a group of County staff from several County departments and other public agencies that reviews proposed development projects to determine the extent of further information that will be needed to process the application, assesses the project for compliance with all County ordinances, and coordinates relevant comments and conditions to be incorporated into proposed projects to the applicant. The DRG meeting itself includes those departments/agency staff of the County having an interest in the development (the reviewing agencies) in the unincorporated areas of the County. This handout explains the purpose and the process of the Development Review Group.
PURPOSE
The Development Review Group is a pre-application appraisal of projects that is intended to: identify significant issues that will need to be addressed, assess the project for regulatory compliance with County ordinances, allow the applicant to meet early in the process, or to meet as often as desired by the applicant during the project design stage to resolve identified project issues prior to submittal of a formal application, with as many staff as possible at one time who will be reviewing the formal application, determine the extent of further information needed to submit the formal application by providing a list of the required submittal materials along with the estimated fees associated with the development application.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Prior to application for a Development Review Group applicants are encouraged to meet with the Zoning counter staff who will assist in determining who the reviewing agencies/department may be so that the application materials and plans are routed to agency reviewers normally required for discretionary applications. In cases where the Development Review Group application is not mandated by County Code (Section 18.10.140 or 13.10.497{A}), the staff will email suggested Agency routings normally associated with discretionary applications prior to fee payment with a request to the applicant to review and accept suggested routings or to review and revise routings to reflect only their selected agency routings. Final agency routings and fees are finalized prior to fee payment and application processing. This latter option allows the applicant greater flexibility and support to address specific identified areas of regulatory uncertainty, project related design issues, or additional agency review follow-up after an initial DRG where a secondary Agency review may not be desired.
The applicant may also elect to utilize the DRG process as an iterative tool with multiple routings and DRG meetings to resolve interagency conflicts or to achieve the application information required to resolve compliance issues so that when the formal application is submitted, there are no significant remaining regulatory compliance areas. Applicants should communicate identified changes in the project scope with the Planner before this occurs and identify project revisions s in the project application description. It is recommended that a new DRG be applied for if significant alterations to the original project occur, such as a change in the proposed unit count.
At the time of submittal, the fee for the DRG application requires an at cost deposit and flat fees, as adopted by the Board of Supervisors Fee Schedule, to facilitate DRG review and follow up discussions. The DRG is applied for electronically (no appointment required) at which time the application materials are submitted and the DRG fee is paid. Prior to fee payment, the Principal Planner assigns the DRG to the Project Planner and the project planner forwards the submittal materials to clerical support for agency routing of plans and supplemental materials to the reviewing agencies/departments. Upon fee payment the project plans and materials are routed to agencies for review.
INITIAL REVIEW AND ROUTING
The assigned planner will review the application submittal materials to ensure that the information provided is adequate to allow for meaningful input from the reviewing agencies/departments. The planner will then contact the applicant to schedule a convenient time and date to hold the DRG meeting (ideally the meeting should be held within four weeks of the application date).
The project planner receives initial comments from the reviewing agencies and departments three weeks from DRG fee payment, does an initial review of the project including a site visit, and sends out a DRG meeting notice to announce the DRG meeting to the reviewing agencies/departments. DRG meetings are typically held 30 days from application fee payment with a date agreeable by the applicant. A copy of this meeting notice is also mailed to the applicant, and the owner (if different).
THE DRG MEETING
The DRG meeting is not a public hearing and is conducted informally in the Community Development and Infrastructure Department conference room. The project planner is the facilitator of the meeting, and he/she will begin by presenting the project and reviewing the Planning Department’s comments. The planner then provides each agency/department’s representatives with the opportunity to share their feedback on the project. Although attendance by the noticed agencies and departments is not mandatory, representatives of commenting agencies are requested to be present whenever possible. The planner continues the meeting by acknowledging written comments received from agencies and departments unable to send a representative to the meeting. Once all comments and feedback have been aired, an opportunity is provided to the applicant to ask questions regarding input provided by agency reviewers. Then, the planner will bring the meeting to a close. A DRG meeting can last from one to two hours.
FOLLOW–UP LETTER
To complete the DRG process, the planner will prepare and mail a follow-up letter to the applicant and owner (if different), and to any others designated in the application within two weeks. Copies may be forwarded to the District Supervisor, the Planning Director, and the Principal Planner. The letter will set out a discussion of the project identifying issues that need to be addressed and will identify areas of project inconsistency with the County General Plan and County Code ordinances. Along with the letter, a copy of all the written comments received in response to the initial routing for the DRG will be attached. In addition, the planner will enclose a full list of materials required to submit for the Development Permit, the forms that need to be completed, an overview of the review process for the required formal application, if required, and the estimated costs of the formal application.
Lastly, it will be assumed that if the applicant has not reached out to the project planner within 10 days of receipt of the DRG follow up letter, the applicant has accepted the DRG follow up information. However, if the applicant has questions regarding DRG information provided, the applicant may request clarification from the project planner or agency reviewers.
APPLICATION SUBMITTAL MATERIALS
The objective of the DRG is to provide enough information to allow an informed review of the proposal without requiring the applicant to undergo the expense of preparing specific and detailed engineered site plans and architectural drawings. However, it is important to note that the more specific and detailed the DRG submittal materials and plans are, the more specific and detailed the review comments will be. Submittals materials vary depending on the nature of each individual project, the types of permits required, and the type of feedback requested by the applicant.
Preliminary plans should, at a minimum, be clear, and be drawn to scale; shall include the date the plans were prepared, the assessor’s parcel number, site address; the applicant’s and owner’s name, address, phone number and email address; and a detailed project description. The DRG Application form itself should include the applicant’s design goals and constraints, and any special direction or agency routings sought, and/or identify special circumstances or project design issues that require particular attention by agency reviewers. A non-code mandated DRG application may include a request for all agency routings or only one agency review, as desired.
All DRG applications should include: a clear location and vicinity map with cross streets adequate for locating the property, an assessor’s parcel map, a copy of the current deed, photographs of the site and neighboring parcels, and an existing and proposed site plan. The site plan should show existing and proposed structures, all property lines with existing land uses shown on the contiguous parcels and across the street, parcel dimensions and size expressed in acreage and square feet, topography, streams and riparian areas, septic system location (if applicable), streets and rights-of-way, dimensioned driveways and fire access, circulation patterns, parking spaces, areas of existing vegetation including the location and disposition of trees over 6 inches in diameter, and proposed landscape areas. Preliminary plans showing grading and drainage are helpful in providing feedback from reviewing agencies. For resolution of special circumstances or design issues identified in the application form, enough plan information must be provided to allow for agency specific direction.
Commercial and other non-residential projects should include conceptual drawings of the project (elevations). Land division applications should include a preliminary tentative map.