PLANNER

The purpose of the class is to perform professional and technical work in short-range and long-range planning programs related to the development and implementation of land use plans and policies, capital improvements, infrastructure development, and other County projects and programs; and to perform related work as assigned. The class works within broad policy and organizational guidelines, does independent planning and implementation, and reports progress of major activities through periodic conferences and meetings. This class establishes and maintains effective working relationships with other County employees, municipalities, state and federal officials, representatives of historic and neighborhood organizations, business and community organizations and the public. The principal duties of this class are performed in a general office environment.•    Performs professional planning duties, preparing component parts of plans, policies and programs in support of the County’s goals in alignment with private development.  
•    Reviews applications for completeness and reviews plans for compliance with zoning regulations; confirms coordination with other pertinent governing agencies; presents comments to applicants; approves applications for development.
•    Reviews residential, commercial, institutional, and civic development plans to ensure compliance with zoning and land development regulations.
•    Processes variance and special exception requests, including reviewing applications for completeness, performing site inspections, documenting site conditions and history, writing staff reviews, and creating site maps and presentations to the Board.
•    Reviews subdivision plats for Dorchester County and certain municipalities to ensure that all plats meet County’s and/or municipality’s requirements and forwards same to additional agencies for review.
•    Performs on-site inspections to determine conformance with approved plans and with zoning regulations and to evaluate health of trees within Dorchester County and various other municipalities.
•    Gathers and analyzes data on land use, transportation, development and related information for the Comprehensive Plan based on present and future conditions.
•    Uses computerized modeling techniques, including forecasting, capacity analysis and related information to determine impact of various plans on existing County conditions.
•    Conducts pre-application meetings for those seeking site plan review, special exceptions, variances, and re-zoning requests.
•    Explains policies, procedures and regulations to the public, developers, business organizations, contractors, engineers, architects, etc.
•    Checks zoning regulations applicable to a particular property, provides all related information to interested parties, issues violation notices, and appears in court on County’s behalf when necessary.
•    Collects, summarizes and stores programmatic data to improve program effectiveness using computers, source documents and related.
•    Prepares reports for public review, internal use or review by outside organizations, including graphics, to describe projects and program goals or activities.
•    Determines the appropriateness and validity of data for use in various projects and makes recommendations for additional data collection as needed.
•    Provides support to the Emergency Operations Center when requested.
•    Keeps immediate supervisor and designated others fully and accurately informed concerning work progress, present any potential problems, and makes suggestions for new or improved ways of addressing such problems.
•    Attends meetings, conferences, workshops and training sessions and reviews materials to become and remain current on the principles, practices and new developments.
•    Provides needed information and demonstrations concerning how to perform certain work tasks to new employees in the same or similar class of positions.
•    Regularly communicates and coordinates with others to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of interdepartmental operations and activities.
•    Performs routine administrative / clerical work as required, including entering and retrieving computer data, copying and filing documents, assembling materials, typing reports and correspondence, ordering office supplies, etc.
•    Performs other related job duties as assigned.



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Bachelor's degree in planning or related field.  Master's degree in planning or related field preferred.  
Requires at least one (1) year of related work experience in land use planning, engineering or real estate; or any equivalent combination of experience and education.
Special Qualifications:
None.