Temporary Planner

Employer: City of Kirkland

Salary: $94,555.45 - $ Annually

Location: Kirkland, WA

Job Type: Full-Time

Job Number:

Department: Planning & Building - PB Team 03

Opening Date: 11/25/2025

Closing Date: Continuous>

FLSA Status: Exempt

Bargaining Unit: AFSCME

This position is temporary due to an incumbent with return rights with an anticipated end date of 1/1/2027. The Planner serves as a first‑level professional planner. Implements the mission of the Department in order to assure the orderly growth of the City. Undertakes and coordinates professional planning services involving processing of discretionary and ministerial development applications, and providing public information about City planning policies, regulations, and activities.

Assists with preparing land use plans and regulations, and collection and analysis of geographic and socioeconomic data.

Distinguishing Characteristics: This is the first‑level professional classification in the Planner series. The Planner follows diversified procedures and implements processes to accomplish end results, within guidelines. Immediate supervision is available upon request. This classification performs more complex technical duties than the Assistant Planner, and requires a higher level of knowledge and skill. The Planner is distinguished from the next higher level, Associate Planner, in that the latter is a higher‑level class in the series that performs more complex technical, investigative, and supervisory duties requiring a higher level of knowledge and skill.

• Provides information and interpretation of applicable City development regulations and policies to the general public, permit applicants, and public officials - over the telephone, at the counter, through e‑mail, and at meetings.
• Performs technical review of building and other ministerial development permits to ensure compliance with zoning and related development regulations, comprehensive plan policies and conditions of approval for prior discretionary development permits. Makes decisions on behalf of the Department about ministerial development permit applications' compliance with regulations and policies.
• Processes minor development proposals requiring discretionary City approval, for example: variances, and short plats.
• Depending on availability of projects and planner workload, processes development proposals requiring discretionary City approval, for example: land use permits, Planned Unit Developments and subdivisions, including some complex and controversial projects.
• Reviews proposals and uses professional judgment to evaluate the compliance with zoning and related development regulations and comprehensive plan policies, coordinates with other departments and local agencies, prepares written staff reports and makes recommendations for decision makers.
• Reviews and issues formal decisions on Design Review applications.
• Reviews development proposals and planning projects for compliance with the State Environmental Policy Act.
• Presents staff reports at public meetings before the Hearing Examiner, Design Review Board, and City Council.
• Represents the Department at public meetings hosted by the City, developers, and civic groups.
• Works with applicants, individuals and interest groups to negotiate revisions, resolve disputes and facilitate consensus in issues pertaining to building permits, development permits and planning projects.
• Fosters a positive and supportive work environment; promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace, contributing to an environment of respectful living and working in a multicultural society.

• Prepares legal documents associated with development permits. Monitors maintenance and performance securities, including wetland mitigation and landscaping.
• Performs research tasks as assigned.
• Creates and/or revises administrative procedures to implement changes to policies and codes.
• Works with other members of the Department in collaborative problem solving and completion of tasks.
• Supports the Code Enforcement Officer, including code analysis and site visits.
• Represents the department on interdepartmental service teams…