Planning Technician - City of Greeley

Salary Range:   $25.53 - $34.47

Anticipated Hiring Range:  $25.53 - $30.05

Short Job Description:

The City of Greeley is seeking a Planning Technician to join the Development Review Division of the Community Development Department.

This position is a full-time, term-limited position funded for 2024. The position is anticipated to continue in 2025 with the possibility of becoming permanent subject to future appropriations. This position is benefit eligible.

Job Summary:

The City of Greeley is seeking a Planning Technician to join the Development Review Division of the Community Development Department.  The Planning Technician will report to the Chief Planner – Development Review and is responsible for a variety of essential planning functions to assist the Department’s professional planners. The technician is the point person for all new project intakes, checking development review submittals for completeness, and is the Department’s primary Planner On-Call. Other duties include reviewing minor cases such as adjacent agency referrals and minor subdivisions; performing reviews of building and sign permits; responding to citizen and applicant inquiries; and providing information via walk-in, telephone, and email. 

The ideal candidate understands that latitude is considered the most appropriate procedure or precedent to follow. Standard operating procedures provide guidance for daily work; however, each project, permit, and question include unique aspects to take into consideration. 

Experience, Knowledge, Skills:

• Detailed knowledge in a specialized field such as planning, environmental science, economics, etc.  
• The ability to selectively extract, verify and compile data and/or operate specialized equipment to produce results. Entry level for more specialized fields.  
• Extensive knowledge of land use planning principles and zoning regulations to accurately convey requirements to external customers or demonstrated experience communicating highly technical information to non-technical customers. 
• The ability to interpret data and the city development code, as well as an understanding of general planning principles. 
• The ability to complete all activities associated with a site visit.  
• Knowledge of the business and organizational structure of Colorado municipalities.  
• Collaboration skills, including the ability to work with others from different areas and backgrounds to reach a common goal.  
• Computer skills, including the ability to utilize Microsoft Office programs (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.) and learn and experiment with new software and systems. 
• Interpersonal skills, including the ability to facilitate interaction, communication, and teamwork between others. 
• Oral, written, and listening communication skills, including the ability to accurately interpret what others are saying and convey messages, information, concepts, and details accurately and clearly.
• Organizational skills, including the ability to set and meet goals and deadlines, manage appointments, create schedules, coordinate and facilitate meetings, and make decisions.
• Ability to work under pressure, manage multiple concurrent and competing tasks and responsibilities, and adapt to changing priorities while maintaining personal effectiveness. 
• Ability to prioritize work, meet deadlines, and stay on task when completing special projects and daily assignments. 
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and reliable professional judgment, as well as collaboratively with a team to achieve desired results. 
• Ability to maintain a strong work ethic, positive problem-solving attitude, and enthusiasm for the work performed. 
• Ability to self-start and take initiative in completing daily tasks and special projects. 
• Ability to focus on activities that have the greatest impact on meeting work commitments. 
• Ability to establish and maintain partnerships with a variety of internal and external constituencies. 
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and ages. 
• Ability to navigate a complex political environment. 
• Customer service skills, including the ability to actively listen, address customer needs, defuse tense situations, and maintain an open, flexible, and friendly demeanor. 
• Ability to present oneself professionally in appearance, demeanor, and effort. 

Minimum Requirements

• General knowledge of Urban and Regional Planning, or ability to learn the principles of planning. 
• Two (2) to Four (4) years’ customer service experience, preferably in a telephone-heavy environment, 

Preferred

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning, or related field.  
• One (1) to (4) years’ experience with ESRI ArcGIS 
• One (1) to four (4) years’ experience with web accessibility production and best practices 
• AICP-eligible within 2 years of hire. 
• One (1) to two (2) years’ experience with ESRI ArcGIS. 
• English/Spanish bilingual preferred. 

Essential Functions:

• Conveys the steps of the land development process to applicants and evaluates submittals for completion. This includes walking applicants through the checklist of submittal requirements, recommending that they conduct a pre-application meeting if needed, and aiding with submittal through Trakit.  
• Acts as the primary on-call planner and responds to general citizen inquiries pertaining to the City's development code requirements, via walk-in, telephone, and email.  
• Answers questions generally related to zoning, permitted uses, setbacks, signage, fencing, landscaping, additions, accessory structures, and current development projects.  
• Reviews building and sign permits.  
• Conduct property research pertaining to matters such as historic land uses, zoning verifications and permitted uses, and PUD and subdivision regulations.  
• Provides historical records, zoning verification letters, and/or completed open records requests to external customers such as developers, realtors, appraisers, and general citizens. 
• Contributes to special projects and contribution to staff meetings and ongoing projects. Special projects often mean reaching other municipalities to determine how they approached a specific matter or what their standards are for a given process. Contribution to staff meetings and projects includes matters such as assisting with Code updates and re-write, comparative development review fee schedules, and updating standard operating procedures.  
• Responds to inquiries related to code requirements and land use processes.  
• ProvidesTrakit technical assistance for capital improvement projects; gain an understanding of how other cities and/or counties have handled certain planning matters, such as a particular code update. 
• Completes work tasks that are not completely defined by procedure; there may be limited, clear variations of precedent or alternative, defined solutions that should be considered.  

Supervisory Responsibilities

n/a

Work Environment and Physical Requirements:

Travel:  

Occasional travel locally to site visits; possible travel to training and certification opportunities.   

Work Environment:  

• Position requires extensive time at a computer performing research, and drafting documents and email communications.
• This is primarily a sedentary position with business conducted in an office setting.
• Office environment with travel to and appearance in meetings other formal environments. 
• Busy office activity with frequent inflexible deadlines.
• May be required to drive personal vehicle for business purposes.

Physical Requirements: 

• Position requires extensive time at a computer performing legal research, and drafting documents and email communications.
• Vision enough to interpret computer screens and documents to assist the public and complete work assignments; specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
• Manual dexterity enough to accurately input, retrieve and verify work assignments; employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms.
• Light to moderate physical effort that includes frequent standing, walking, keypunching, and oral communication; maintaining arms and hands in the same position for repetitive tasks; frequently works with light objects and light hand tools. 

EOE Statement: The City of Greeley provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

ADA Statement: We are committed to an inclusive and barrier-free search process. We provide accommodations for applicants requesting accommodation through the search process such as alternative formats of this posting.  Individuals with disabilities in need of accommodations throughout the search process should contact the ADA Coordinator at: HR@Greeleygov.com .

Conditions of Employment: Candidates must successfully complete all pre-employment screenings and employment eligibility verification. Pre-employment screenings include a drug test, a background and national sex offender search, a motor vehicle record search, and for some positions, a physical demands evaluation. For more information about City policies and practices during the recruitment process, including but not limited to EOE, Reasonable Accommodation, and pre-employment screenings, please visit our career page HERE.