Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Half Moon Bay considers outsourcing their Planning Department


The Eco-NIMBY factor, another view, another city. 

The Daily Journal/Staff, 11/27/12.  "Half Moon Bay may outsource planning." 

Tourism alone does not pay the bills, default we do
"Half Moon Bay’s Planning Department may be dismantled in favor of contracting out the service, if the council follows a consultant’s recommendation. Matrix Consulting Group prepared a report the City Council will consider tonight that recommends a reduction in staff from its current three employees since the workload for the department has dropped off considerably in recent years. The number of permits issued has almost halved since 2008, according to the report.

  Expensive weeds
....  The report indicates Half Moon Bay only needs 1.33 full-time planners. Although the department technically has a planning director, associate planner and an administrative assistant, only the associate planner position is currently filled. Three contract planners currently assist the department with backlog of work.  The Matrix report recommends eliminating the department’s administrative assistant position since that employee has been on leave for some time. In the report, the position is described as a “luxury.” 

The city already outsources its police department to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and administrative services for its Parks and Recreation Department to San Carlos.   ....The 86-page report also recommends the city update its general plan, portions of which are outdated."   Read more.

Posted by Kathy Meeh

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Guess HMB is going to answer that question for us..when is a city no longer a city? Listen up, Pacifica!

Anonymous said...

Pacifica, should do this and get rid of the planning commission. The decks where stacked to put some attorney's on planning to scare off Peebles.

Anonymous said...

Oh sure, Don Peebles was scared to death of a couple low-rent attorneys. His attorneys wouldn't have hired them to be file clerks.
Although he had and made no friends on council it was the voters who booted Peebles and he always knew that was a risk. Structured his deal accordingly. He's probably thanked his lucky stars 7 million times that he didn't get mired in the Pacifica muck while the housing market imploded. Come back, Don, come back!

Anonymous said...

Outsourcing is for city departments and city employees to cut payroll costs and increase efficiency. The planning commission is unpaid. If this council has any balls or brains and their actual intent is to grow Pacifica, then the first thing they do after the swearing in is release the planning commission and start fresh. Mighty big if. Making decisions that matter is not their forte. Probably need a consultant or three. Line up that can so they can kick it!

Steve Sinai said...

I doubt this is due to Eco-NIMBYs. More likely it's the bad economy.

Kathy Meeh said...

"..the bad economy." 11:35 PM. Steve Sinai, 11:35 PM

There has been a bad economy that has affected most cities off course. But I try to be careful in choosing my wording.

Half Moon Bay has had ongoing Eco-NIMBY interference with enlarging their sewer capacity, the artificial wetlands lawsuit created on private property to be developed, and other land usage.

Eco-NIMBY interference in balanced economic development issues seems to be typical along the coast, but is also evidenced with some projects in the county.

Half Moon promotes tourism, but tourism, expensive homes, farming, and small business still do not seem to balance their city budget.

Anonymous said...

Steve Sinai said...
I doubt this is due to Eco-NIMBYs. More likely it's the bad economy.

November 27, 2012 11:35 PM

Maybe it was caving in to the hippies and nobies. Where did I see that happen? Umm Pacifica. Maybe it was crappy planning which equals crappy performance by an incompetant city council.

Sound familiar?

http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_21605179/timeline-half-moon-bays-beachwood-saga

Anonymous said...

Steve Sinai said...
I doubt this is due to Eco-NIMBYs. More likely it's the bad economy.

November 27, 2012 11:35 PM

So the problems in Pacifica are all due to the bad economy. For 30 years?

Pacifica, never had an economy even during two of the biggest post war expansions.

We didn't even have a building boom during 2 of the biggest building booms and damn near free captial from the banks, pension funds, and insurance companies.

Steve Sinai said...

I was referring to HMB and Kathy's little subtitle about the Eco-NIMBY perspective.

I wasn't referring to Pacifica.

Confusing, They Are said...

Who writes the captions for those pictures? Yoda?

Anonymous said...

Half Moon Bay has had ongoing Eco-NIMBY interference with enlarging their sewer capacity, the artificial wetlands lawsuit created on private property to be developed, and other land usage.

Before this the NIMBY's and NOBIES and HIPPIES down the coast tried to limit water hook ups to limit growth. Then they slowed down to a near stop the widening of 92 from Half Moon Bay highway 1 to 35 and over to 92 past 280.

Anonymous said...

Confusing, They Are said...
Who writes the captions for those pictures? Yoda?

November 28, 2012 10:29 AM

10:29 am never question the Zen Masters!

Anonymous said...

anytime something fails in pacifica, blame the "economy". bad roads? economy. cracked sewer mains? economy. city hall by the sea? economy. biodiesel plant? economy.

Anonymous said...

I blame the Democratic voters who continue to vote in the same anti-business, anti-jobs for middle class, but you are the middle class democratic voters. Oh, forget bout it. It is you, the voter, that keep voting yourself out of a job and thriving community. Quit complaining. Live in your Utopia and STFU.

Anonymous said...

"..STFU", 1107.

Oh that's nice. That's why attitudes like that all wrapped-up in the other political party keep losing.

Anonymous said...

By the way these blogger comments are , you are the one that is losing. You have only yourself to blame if you are unhappy in your Utopia. Except your fate and settle for your hut with no power or way to get to work. It's coming and only you , you are to blame. By the way, the democrats cheat and cheat big. That is your fact of the day. When voter ballots are no longer found in the bay after a election, which happens to be Republican votes, then maybe your life will get better.

Anonymous said...

STFU? Why that's his go-to phrase. Can't you just hear it at the dinner table?

Kathy Meeh said...

"..the democrats cheat and cheat big." Anonymous 1:12 PM.

Democrats ran a better election campaign, and moderate platform policies are better for humans. Hurray for hard working campaign workers, and for the common sense of voters this election.

Radical right-wing policies, plus the obstruction from the Republican controlled "do nothing" congress do not appeal to most people. And, congratulations to moderate Republicans who are now voting against such policies, or have become Independents or Democrats.

But back to your "cheat and cheat big", voter obstruction and fraud comment. Since you brought this issue up, lets counter with the following: 1) 26 states with Republican governors restrict voting; and 2) Republican voter registration fraud. Then there were those 4-8 hour lines to vote in Florida and Ohio. Meantime, you have not supported your allegation of Democrats intentionally throwing Republican votes in the Bay, no surprise.

Fortunately with the re-election of the President, the Supreme Court has a chance to become more moderate. And hopefully the top 2% wealthy will lose their additional 11 year tax break. That 11 year tax "cheat" (your word) has not been good for the country. But then there was the big money "cheats" that also drove this country, and others, into the major Recession we are now recovering from.

Anonymous said...

Romney, could only relate to rich spoiled guys like him. He Didn't have a speech ready in case he lost.

Amazing.