Community Development - Senior Planner

Senior Planner

The Community Development department plays a vital role in comprehensive planning, land use management, zoning administration, and long‑range development initiatives throughout the City. The Senior Planner position performs complex professional and administrative work in directing, coordinating, and managing the City’s planning functions within the Department of Community Development. This role guides land use decisions, supports sustainable growth, and helps preserve the unique character and quality of life that makes Poquoson a special coastal community.

Work involves leadership in land use planning, zoning administration, long‑range comprehensive planning, and community development initiatives to ensure orderly and sustainable growth consistent with the City’s policies and goals. The position requires independent judgment, strong analytical skills, and the ability to work collaboratively with City staff, elected officials, regional partners, and the public. This is a full‑time, exempt position with a starting salary of $71,504.

• Assists citizens with the land use permit/rezoning process; provides ordinance and comprehensive plan interpretations.
• Reviews and coordinates reviews of the land use applications, comprehensive plan and ordinance amendments for review by the Planning Commission and the City Council.
• Coordinate the purchase and installation of streetlights.
• Processes and presents technical reports in the areas of land use, environmental, economic impact and land development.
• Reviews site plans and plats for conformance with the City and State ordinances and regulations.
• Reviews building and zoning permit applications.
• Reviews local ordinances to verify consistency and intent; recommends updates as needed; researches other local government ordinances to benchmark how land use issues are handled.
• Serves as staff liaison to various boards and commissions including the Planning Commission, City Council, the Architectural Review Board and the Board of Zoning Appeals.
• Reviews Home Business and Farm Animal permits.
• Conducts research and prepares statistical reports on land use, physical, social, and economic issues. Represents the City at regional planning organizational meetings.
• Zoning and Code Compliance Enforcement.
• Oversees the efficient processing of land use and development applications through the legislative and administrative review, approval and enforcement processes.
• Interprets, implements and enforces established land use and development regulations.
• Serves as a department liaison at City Council, Planning Commission and Architectural Review Board meetings and provides staff support to the Economic Development Authority as needed.
• Analyzes and interprets defined goals and objectives in the City’s adopted Comprehensive Plan as it relates to land use, transportation and environmental planning matters.
• Recommends and drafts changes to the City Code, ordinances, policies and procedures as it relates to land use, environmental, transportation and development matters.
• Serves as City liaison at regional organizations and interacts with regional and State representatives on transportation, environmental, land use and development related matters.
• Analyzes and interprets comprehensive land use, environmental and transportation studies and reports to determine the practicality and accuracy of its methodology and discoveries.
• Assists citizens, landowners, developers, consultants and contractors in assessing the feasibility of development concepts based on City standards and policies.
• Serves on the City’s Development Plan Review Committee and offers planning related findings on development applications.
• Provides oversight and assigns tasks to subordinate department staff primarily as it relates to the processing of land use applications.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

• Comprehensive knowledge of the principles and practices of urban and regional planning.
• Comprehensive knowledge of economics, municipal finance and sociology as they apply to planning.
• General knowledge of the principles and practices of civil and environmental engineering…