Closing Date: Continuous
Salary: $9,836.06 – $12,445.75 Monthly
Location: City Hall, 1812 Main Street, Lake Stevens, WA
Remote Employment: Flexible/Hybrid
Department: Planning and Community Development
First Review: February 14, 2023

About the Position:

The City of Lake Stevens Planning and Community Development Department is now recruiting for the
position of Planning Manager! This position will play a crucial part in supporting the Department’s goal of: Maintain a unique and vibrant community that promotes economic growth and healthy neighborhoods with sustainable development and environmental protection.

About the City of Lake Stevens:

Lake Stevens is a vibrant and growing community – the second fastest-growing city in Snohomish County – with a population of over 38,000 makes us the 5th largest city in the county.

Lake Stevens is generally a residential community with access to numerous commercial, retail and recreational opportunities. Of course, the crown jewel of the community is the lake itself, which boasts some of the greatest water recreational opportunities in the county. Lake Stevens is also uniquely situated, being close to the lake, ocean, and Cascade mountains, to take advantage of many outdoor activities. The Lake Stevens Schools are excellent and coupled with a city priority of parks and increased walkability, makes Lake Stevens an ideal place to raise a family.

The City of Lake Stevens operates under the mayor-council system. The city’s motto, “One Community Around the Lake”, embodies our quality of life, top-ranked school district, and the City Council’s commitment to providing excellent services and amenities for its residents.

Why City of Lake Stevens?

  • Work-Life Balance – We are committed to ensure that our staff experience the reward of public service, while also sustaining a routine that suits each individual’s lifestyle.
  • Flexible Work Schedules – The city offers a variety of work schedules to include potential hybrid/remote work dependent on meeting business necessities and supervisor approval.
  • Work Where You Live!

The City of Lake Stevens Offers a Comprehensive benefits Package Including:

  • Retirement- through the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems.
  • Deferred Compensation – with city match.
  • Excellent healthcare options – including medical, dental, vision insurance, city-paid life insurance and long-term disability, health savings accounts (HSA), and Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRA/VEBA).
  • Paid leave – including paid sick leave, paid vacation, flexible holidays, paid holidays, and bereavement leave.
  • Tuition reimbursement!
  • See our benefits page for a complete list of all the benefits available to the City of Lake Stevens employees.

Position Purpose:

The Planning Manager participates in advanced, highly complex professional planning activities, covering current planning and long-range planning. The incumbent coordinates the daily activities of the Planning Division team members in the areas of current and long-range planning and is responsible for mentoring staff of varying personalities and abilities and reviewing the work of subordinates. The incumbent is part of a collaborative work team which is responsive to inquiries from the public, other staff, developers, contractors, and elected officials.

The Planning Manager is responsible for project management, delegation of assignments, policy development and implementation. These duties include but are not limited to project scoping and schedule development, public engagement and community outreach, meeting coordination and facilitation, document preparation and review, contract management, and public presentations. The incumbent ensures team members comply with various city and state ordinances, regulations, and policies related to land development; applies research and analytical skills; prepares and presents staff reports for public hearings and meetings; informs the public, other agencies, developers, and others of various city and state land use and development code requirements and policies. The incumbent is expected to perform and administer the most complex professional planning work, requiring a
substantial level of professional training and experience.

Work is performed under managerial direction. The Community Development Director provides the incumbent with assignments in terms of broad practice, precedents, policies and goals. Work may be reviewed for fulfillment of division objectives and conformance with departmental policy, practice and/or objective.

Supervision Exercised:

  • Exercises supervision over assigned staff.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Essential duties and responsibilities may include but are not limited to the following:

  • Provides supervision of planning division including resolution of personnel issues in coordination with the Director, assigns work to professional staff, ensures appropriate training is provided, and advises the Director on all planning-related matters.
  • Supervisory responsibilities include interviewing, training and making hiring recommendations; planning, scheduling, coordinating, and assisting with work plans; reviewing the work of team members for completeness and accuracy, mentoring team members to improve their skills and effectiveness; addressing complaints and resolving problems; appraises performance; performs corrective action; recommends promotion and disciplinary actions; addresses complaints; approves/schedules sick leave and vacation time; and recommends terminations as appropriate.
  • Assumes responsibility for the planning division; evaluates operations and activities of assigned responsibilities and prepares reports on operations and activities, recommending improvements and modifications; delegates responsibility and appropriate authority to assigned staff as appropriate.
  • Responsible for delegating or preparing the long-range planning activities such as Comprehensive Plan, subarea and/or master planning, Shoreline Master Program, Statewide Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) reviews, zoning and subdivision ordinances, and specific community development projects.
  • Oversees and participates in current planning activities such as compliance review of land use and other development permit applications consistent with local, state and federal legal requirements.
  • Oversees the review or preparation of plans for developments; zoning variance and building permit applications; master plan proposals, modifications and related infrastructure plans; drawings and specifications for compliance with the city’s Comprehensive Plan; zoning code provisions; appropriate urban design and environmental practices; land use and other relevant laws and regulations.
  • Oversees the preparation of the Environmental Impact Statements and environmental checklists pursuant to the SEPA; oversees development of appropriate mitigation measures and provides local SEPA official with recommendation concerning environmental threshold determinations.
  • Oversees and participates in the development of Comprehensive Plan updates; interprets and applies the Comprehensive Plan policies, as well as land use ordinances and related environmental laws.
  • Interprets, applies, and communicates technical, statistical, and legal codes, policies and ordinances including zoning, land use, and environmental regulations to customers.
  • Provides recommendations to the development and implementation of planning standards, policies, strategies, projects and priorities.
  • Performs project management over assigned projects to ensure contract compliance and adherence to applicable policies, ordinances, state, or federal regulations.
  • Oversees and/or performs the analysis and preparation of reports regarding effects of proposed development, annexations, zone changes, and new construction.
  • Oversees all public involvement activities for assigned projects; develops and schedules public review process and public meetings, hearings and workshops; represents the city at meetings.
  • Develops and negotiates consultant contracts for assigned projects; monitors and evaluates performance of consultants.
  • Advises various councils, boards, commissions and elected officials in planning-related issues.
  • Maintains regular, predictable and reliable attendance during scheduled hours.

Peripheral Duties:

  • Performs the duties of other personnel as needed.
  • Provides coverage for daily operations of the Community Development Director in their absence or when requested.
  • Performs other duties as assigned.

Education, Training and Experience Guidelines:

Education: bachelor’s degree in urban planning or urban Design; master’s degree in a related field, preferred.

Experience: Five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in planning and research related to land
use, urban economics, environmental issues, conservation, or other experience directly related to city planning and development; and one (1) year of supervisory experience desired.

Or: Any combination of education and experience, which provides the applicant with the desired skills,
knowledge and ability required to perform the job, may be substituted for these qualifications.

Knowledge of:

  • Principles, practices, methods, current trends, and standards of urban planning, shoreline master plans, land use policies, and zoning regulations.
  • Applicable federal, state and local laws, codes, regulations, policies and procedures related to urban planning and other assigned areas.
  • Governmental and legal procedures related to planning, zoning and land use.
  • Public records act, specifically the creation, storage, maintenance, and response to public records in the state of Washington.
  • Structure, organization and interrelationships of city departments, agencies and related governmental agencies and offices affecting assigned functions.
  • Interpersonal skills using tact, patience and courtesy.
  • Effective oral and written communication principles and practices to include public relations, public speaking and professional business letter writing.
  • Project management techniques and principles.
  • Research methods and report preparation and presentation.
  • Modern office procedures, methods and equipment including computers and computer applications including word processing, spreadsheets, and statistical databases.
  • Principles and practices of governmental budget preparation and administration.
  • Supervisory and training principles, methods, best management practices and techniques.

Skill and Ability to:

  • Participate as a contributing member of a service-oriented team.
  • Establish and maintain effective working relationships at various levels with the public, elected and appointed officials and City employees.
  • Maintain a customer service orientation, be courteous and diplomatic in the exchange of information and present a positive image of the City in a variety of circumstances.
  • Demonstrate a positive attitude conducive to efficient and effective work performance and positive morale.
  • Organize work for maximum efficiency.
  • Capable of managing multiple, high-priority assignments and meeting timelines and deadlines.
  • Utilize personal computer software programs and other relevant software affecting assigned work, including compiling data and preparing spreadsheets.
  • Establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff, management, vendors, outside agencies, community groups, and the public.
  • Demonstrate positive and effective interaction and communication with individuals of diverse social and economic backgrounds.
  • Ability to think creatively about process and means for accomplishing high profile projects with limited resources.
  • Synthesize large quantities of information and conceptualize, organize and execute clear public-facing material for easy understanding.
  • Analyze situations accurately and adopt an effective course of action.
  • Maintain confidentiality.
  • Communicate effectively with tact, patience and diplomacy, orally and in writing, including the ability to listen effectively and to explain complex issues and applicable legal requirements, policies, and procedures to internal and external customers.
  • Effectively delegate tasks and workload assignments.
  • Mentor staff of varying abilities and personalities

License, Certifications, and Other Requirements:

  • Valid driver’s license and a driving record which meets the city’s requirements. Must be able to obtain State of Washington driver’s license within 30 days of hire.
  • American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certificate, preferred.
  • Completion of position-relevant background check.

This position description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change.

Physical Demands/Work Environment:

Please see the attached questionnaire for position specific physical requirements and typical working conditions. The physical demands and work environment characteristics described in the attached form are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to use hands to manipulate, handle, or feel; speak; and hear; sit for extended periods of time; type on a keyboard; stand; walk; reach with hands and arms; and occasionally climb or balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close, distance, color, and peripheral vision; depth perception; and the ability to adjust focus.

Work is usually performed in an indoor office environment, subject to occasionally driving to offsite locations. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

How to Apply:

Applications for this recruitment will be accepted electronically. Your relevant experience may be evaluated to determine salary. Therefore, it is very important that the “Work Experience” portion of the application be completed in as much detail as possible.

In order to be considered for this opportunity, please include the following with your online application:

  • An attached resume outlining (in reverse chronological order) your experience to date.
  • An attached cover letter that further explains your qualifications and indicates why you believe you are a viable candidate for this role.
  • Contact details for a minimum three (3) individuals who can attest to your work performance, technical skills, and job-related competencies. This information can be entered in the “References” section of the online application; does not require an additional attachment.

The City of Lake Stevens is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate based on race, sex, age, color, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, marital status, genetic information, veteran’s status, disability, or any other basis prohibited by federal, state or local law.

There are no limitations to who’s a best fit to serve this community. If we contact you for an interview and you need specific accommodations, please let us know. We’re happy to make the arrangements. We’ll need to know ten (10) days in advance to make sure we get you situated, so Human Resources at (425) 622-9422. You’re also welcome to mail your request to City of Lake Stevens Human Resources, P.O. Box 257, Lake Stevens, WA 98258; or email to arose@lakestevenswa.gov.