Walnut Creek staff present early wins from Development Services Team process overhaul

Walnut Creek Mayor Kevin Wilk opened a Sept. 15 special City Council meeting for an update from the Development Services Team on a months‑long effort to streamline permitting processes. City presenters said the initiative sought to reduce applicant confusion, improve interdepartmental handoffs and institutionalize a customer-focused culture change.

Kathy Arana, an administrative analyst who introduced the presentation, said the core improvement team included 33 city staff and partners from the consultants Partners in Public Innovation (PPI). "This work is not easy," she said, adding the effort combined staff across the city manager's office, public works, community development and multiple divisions to form a single Development Services Team. Ben Schuster Ford, the senior planner who described the project’s Lean approach, said the work emphasized culture change over one‑off fixes: "We then try and understand what is the root cause of their frustration...and then finally we address whatever those frustrations are by providing clarity, transparency and expediency throughout the entire process."

Staff highlighted three focus areas—clarity, communication and efficiency—and walked the council through concrete changes: a customer journey map and division-specific reference sheets; a redesigned comment-letter template that clusters and prioritizes reviewer comments; an internal database and public-facing external-agency map; and an updated permit portal with a 'permit wizard' to guide applicants to the correct forms. Associate Planner Alison Ristic showed a 12‑step customer journey map intended to orient applicants at every stage.

Presenters also described new consultation services: a free 30‑minute concept meeting (Option A), a $1,000 flat fee preliminary review for commercial/multifamily projects with a one-week turnaround for written comments (Option B), and an ongoing consultation model with a $3,500 deposit billed at staff hourly rates (Option C).

On early outcomes, staff said commercial building permit response time in 2026 has fallen by "about two weeks" compared with prior years, and cited a counter survey in which "90% of survey respondents strongly agreed" they were satisfied with their visit's outcome. City staff emphasized that metrics and dashboards are still being expanded to planning and engineering permits.

Council members pressed staff on details—how homeowners can find whether they need a permit, how the redesigned comment letters will reduce subjectivity, how the external-agency map will surface contacts, and how stalled projects are flagged and followed up. Staff described internal flags and weekly DST check-ins that surface hot or stalled projects for follow-up.

Public commenters praised the changes. Jeff Needham said the old documents page was confusing and that the new approach made a practical difference on his recent project. A councilmember moved to accept the report and congratulate the DST; the motion was made and the special meeting was adjourned to reconvene at 6:00 p.m.

Why it matters: City staff said the change aims to turn development services from a local obstacle into a competitive advantage—improving timeliness and predictability for businesses and residents while building a repeatable, Lean culture that can be applied to housing and other city functions.