11 - Laserfiche WebLink

DISCUSSION Many East Bay cities, as well as Contra Costa and Alameda counties, have experienced significant negative financial impacts resulting from the economic downturn and the dissolution of redevelopment at the beginning of 2012. In many instances, this has resulted in the elimination of positions in development and business services. The East Bay EDA recognizes that local municipalities and other regulatory entities continue to strive to provide an excellent level of customer service despite these cuts and financial hardships affecting many communities. To help focus attention on the excellent business climate in the East Bay, a number of East Bay EDA's members — public and private - came together to develop an 'Open for Business' pledge that cities, counties, and other regulatory bodies could adopt to indicate their dedication to fostering and maintaining excellent customer service related to economic development despite the economic downturn. The City of Pleasanton's Economic Development staff has participated in the ongoing discussions and development of this Pledge and recommends the City Council adopt the Pledge. Notably, the Pledge affirms the work and leadership of City staff and the Council in focusing on economic development and ongoing support to the Pleasanton business community. Staff notes the City currently meets all of the criteria outlined in the Pledge; examples of some of the City's efforts include: • Implementation of permit streamlining measures identified by a group of stakeholders in the development services process (Customer Service Review Team), including reconfiguration of the City's Permit Center; conversion to new permitting software to allow for greater information sharing; and cross training of staff; • Further improvement of development process and services delivery by maintaining standard timelines for project review/approval and plan check review, offering over-the-counter plan check review, adding automated inspection scheduling, and currently activating the Citizen Access Component of the permitting software program to allow our customers to see online real-time inspection results. • Events with commercial brokers, property owners and developers to seek feedback on development and business services process. Prior to bringing the Pledge to the City Council, the City's Economic Vitality Committee reviewed the Pledge at its July 19 meeting. The EVC members unanimously recommend the City Council adopt the Pledge as an indication of Pleasanton's commitment to economic development and to its high quality standards for delivering customer service. The EVC noted that the points in the pledge are critical not just in times of economic difficulty, but as an ongoing commitment — regardless of the economic environment. The EVC also asked that staff define measurements to track successful execution of the Pledge. Page 2 of 3