Planning Technician

Job Description:

Planning Technician

Description

Our diverse and inclusive workforce of more than 7,000 employees play a key role in the success of San José, the heart of the Silicon Valley. All City of San José employees work together as one team to make San José a vibrant, innovative, and desirable place to live and work. Visit here to learn more about our One Team Leadership Values and Expectations, including quality and excellent customer service and here to learn more about San José.

The City of San José is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. The City of San José is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at 408-535-1285, 711 (TTY) , or via email at CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov .

About the Department

About the Department

The City of San Jose’s Department of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement serves to ensure the orderly and safe development of private properties , compliance with all applicable building, zoning, and quality of life ordinances and regulations, and to promote healthy and safe community standards. This is accomplished by departmental staff in service to customers by:

• Assisting and guiding land use and development to promote long-term goals and objectives that render safe, beneficial, and more sustainable communities;
• Providing orderly administration and compliance of building codes, as mandated by the various levels of government, to ensure the construction of buildings, homes, and structures meet intended life safety and structural requirements; and
• Investigating and resolving citizen complaints of municipal code violations on private property in order to promote, maintain, and improve quality of life issues that better allow for safe and harmonious conditions in all neighborhoods.

About the Division

The City’s Planning Division provides oversight and assistance towards the City's growth and development in relation to regulations related to land use, zoning, development standards, urban village plans, and environmental impacts. The goal is to encourage development that strives for safety, high quality of living standards, and support of the health, inclusion, and wellbeing of all persons living and working in San Jose.

The Division is seeking applicants for the Planning Technician classification. This is a full-time position that is responsible for providing the public with information about land use regulations and permitting requirements and directly assisting customers through the permit application process by completing the initial processing of applications. This includes, but is not limited to, the calculation of application fees, determination of application completeness, data input into the City's permitting system database, creation of maps, and routing electronic plans and documents to other City departments and outside agencies for review.

The Planning Division is divided into four teams:

• Permit Center: The Permit Center team focuses on public information services, administrative-level staff reviews for development projects, and zoning compliance reviews for building permits.
• Development Review: The Development Review team is responsible for processing rezonings and development permits, historic preservation, and community outreach.
• Environmental Review: The Environmental Review team fulfills requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for assessing environmental impacts for public and private projects, ensures environmental mitigation compliance, and implements the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Conservation Plan.?
• Citywide Planning: The Citywide Planning team focuses on long-range planning, including General Plan updates and amendments, zoning and sign ordinance amendments, preparation of urban village plans, housing policies, data analytics, and community engagement.

What We Do

The Department’s Planning Division ensures compliance with the above-mentioned obligations by annually reviewing, analyzing, conducting, researching, processing, and issuance of:

• 4,000 zoning compliance reviews for building permits;
• Over 150 commercial, industrial, residential, and mixed-use development permits;
• Over 500 of environmental clearance reviews for public and private projects, including approximately 4 to 8 Environmental Impact Reports, 20 to 30 Negative Declarations/Mitigated Negative Declarations, and over 150 exemptions;
• Over 50 zoning changes;
• Multiple General Plan Amendments, ordinance amendments, urban village plans, and land use policies; and
• Over 50 community meetings and workshops.

Position Duties

The Planning Division is currently seeking to fill one full-time Planning Technician vacancy. The position will work with other Planning Technicians on public information services, intaking and coordinating permit applications, and providing administrative support for public hearings. The position is primarily responsible for providing basic land use regulation and permitting information to the public, managing application submittal appointments, and ensuring a seamless process for applicants when completing the initial processing of their permit applications. This includes responding to public inquiries about the permitting process and providing guidance on the required application documents. Planning Technicians also provide necessary clarifications to ensure that customers are applying for the correct permitting process and that the information provided is accurate. The duties require close collaboration with other City departments and creative, analytical thinking to troubleshoot issues, and appropriately update tracking sheets and applications as they relate to changes in State laws and City requirements. Planning Technicians also provide administrative and technical support for in-person and virtual meetings (Zoom) to ensure that meeting agenda, presentation slides, and public speaking timers are appropriately displayed. This position occasionally requires working late on weekday evenings to provide administrative support during public hearings.

Salary Range

$75,435.36 - $91,596.96 Annually

This salary range includes an approximate five percent (5%) ongoing non-pensionable compensation. Actual salary shall be determined by the final candidates’ qualifications and experience.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Respond to customer inquiries related to land use planning and zoning-related questions to ensure customers understand the basic processes.
• Provide information regarding permit processing, policies, and procedures to applicants and help ensure that applicants are briefed and successful in the next steps of the process.
• Work with permit applicants, including application intake and providing fee information and general zoning and land use information.
• Create and maintain maps, graphic illustrations, permit applications, documents, spreadsheets, and other land use planning materials primarily using computers and associated software, including Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Suite, and ArcGIS.
• Assist in the preparation and general conduct of public meetings. Provide administrative and technical support for public meetings, including Planning Commission, Historic Landmarks Commission, and Planning Director hearings, requiring some availability on weeknights.
• Research official records from City departments and outside agencies to obtain information, such as the use of property and permit history.
• Provide detailed, technical, and specialized support work to city planners and other staff.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: High school diploma, General Education Development (G.E.D.) Certificate, or California Proficiency Certificate or equivalent.

Experience: Two years of technical experience using a personal computer to create word processing documents, computer graphics, databases, spreadsheets and maps.

Acceptable Substitution for Experience: An associate degree from an accredited college with an emphasis in a technical field such as computer science, geographic information systems, computer graphics, or architectural drafting with completed coursework in each of the following software applications: word processing, computer graphics, databases, spreadsheets and maps.

Licenses: Possession of a valid California driver's license may be required.

Other Qualifications

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history.

Job Expertise - Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations.

Communication Skills - Effectively conveys information and expresses thoughts and facts clearly, orally and in writing; demonstrates effective use of listening skills; displays openness to other people's ideas and thoughts.

Customer Service - Demonstrates the ability to anticipate customers' needs and deliver services effectively and efficiently using professional demeanor.

Initiative - Exhibits resourceful behaviors toward meeting job objectives; anticipates problems, is proactive, and avoids difficulties by planning ahead; displays willingness to assume extra responsibility and challenges; pursues continuing education opportunities that promotes job performance.

Problem Solving - Approaches a situation or problem by defining the problem or issue; determines the significance of problem; collects information; uses logic and intuition to arrive at decisions or solutions to problems that achieve the desired outcome.

Teamwork & Interpersonal Skills - Develops effective relationships with co-workers and supervisors by helping others accomplish tasks and using collaboration and conflict resolution skills.

Multi-Tasking - Can effectively handle multiple projects and responsibilities simultaneously; has handled a wide variety of assignments in past and/or current position(s)

Selection Process:

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to all the job-specific questions. You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered. Otherwise, your application may be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Only those candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews, and one of the interviews may require an in-person interview.

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Jun Kim at jun.kim@sanjoseca.gov.

Additional Information:

Employment Eligibility: Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application. If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov and we will research the status of your application.

AI and the Hiring Process

We recognize that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming part of daily life and can be a valuable tool for learning, research, and professional growth. We encourage candidates to use AI responsibly as a support in preparing application materials, live assessments, and interviews. However, we value authenticity, accuracy and truthfulness. Application responses and interview answers must reflect your own knowledge, skills, and experiences. While AI can supplement preparation, it cannot replace the originality and judgment we look for in our employees. This ensures fairness, transparency, and equity for all applicants in the hiring process.

The City of San Jose offers a wide range of core health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Disability, and Savings Plans. Please visit the City's benefits pagefor detailed information on coverage, cost, and dependent coverage.

For information on the City’s Retirement Plan(pension for full-time employees), please visit the Office of Retirement Services website. You will be able to view information based on different Sworn/Federated job classification.

In additional to the benefits above, there is an additional perks siteto explore further benefits of working for the City of San Jose like paid leave, educational reimbursements, and holiday pay are specific to the job classification and union membership.

Closing Date/Time: 5/26/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

Salary:

$75,435.36 - $91,596.96 Annually