HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-05-11 City CouncilBUDGET
’99- ’01 City
City of Palo Alto
Manager’s Report
TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
ATTENTION: FINANCE COMMITTEE
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT:ADMINISTRATIVE
SERVICES
PLANNING AND
COMMUNITY
ENVIRONMENT
DATE:MAY 11, 1999 CMR:232:99
SUBJECT:COMPREHENSIVE PLAN STATUS REPORT
This is an informational report and no Council action is required.
BACKGROUND
With Council adoption of the 1998-2010 Comprehensive Plan, staff committed to ensuring
that the Comprehensive Plan remained a dynamic document that shaped the future of Palo
Alto. To accomplish this, a number of steps have been taken, including integrating the
Comprehensive Plan into the budget process and budget documents. Another important step
has been the creation of’the Comprehensive Plan Implementation Plan and a status report
which will highlight the City’s progress in implementing the Plan.
DISCUSSION
To oversee the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan, the City Manager has created a
Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee. Its mandate is: to assist in the establishment and
maintenance of Comprehensive Plan priorities; to facilitate the allocation of resources
towards the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan during the budget process and on a
periodic basis throughout the year; to review amendments and changes to the Comprehensive
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Plan Implementation Plan; to provide input regarding budget and Capital Improvement
Program questions; to provide education and outreach within the City regarding the Plan; and
to ensure that implementation is accomplished in a timely manner. The Committee consists
of representatives of the Administrative Services, Community Services, Planning and
Community Environment, Police, Public Works, and Utilities Departments.
An important tool of the Steering Committee will be the Comprehensive Plan Status Report,
which is attached to this report. The Status Report will allow the Committee to monitor
progress in implementing the Comprehensive Plan, and to identify areas where public
education and outreach might be useful. It will also allow the Committee to identify
potential conflicts between goals and funding, and to recognize significant policy questions.
In turn, this information may be used by the City Manager and the City Council for decision-
making purposes during the budget process.
Staff intends to distribute the Status Report annually, during the budget review process. It
is hoped that the Council will use the Status Report as a guide when weighing policy
decisions and to assist in decision-making regarding allocation of resources.
The template for the Status Report is the Comprehensive Plan Implementation Plan. The
Implementation Plan contains every program in the Comprehensive Plan, identifies the lead
department or agency, and indicates the timing of the item. The timing of the items assumes
that 1998-99 is year zero of the Comprehensive Plan, and is broken down into the following
categories: ongoing, which indicates that the program is currently being addressed; 0 to 12
years, which indicates that activities will periodically occur over the life of the
Comprehensive Plan; 0 to 2 years, which applies only to the Planning Division and indicates
that implementation of the program should begin in the 1999-01 budget cycle (unless
otherwise indicated); 3 to 7 years, which again applies only to the Planning Division and
indicates that a program will be initiated in years 3 to 7 of the Comprehensive Plan; 0 to 7
years, which indicates that the program will be initiated within the next 7 years; and 8 to 12
years, which indicates that the program will not be initiated until year 8 or later. The Status
Report uses this information, and adds to it an update on the status and the funding for the
accomplishment of the programs. The Status Report is organized by Comprehensive Plan
element. To increase its ease of use, each program and policy listed is in color, which
indicates the timing of the item. The colors of the categories are as follows: ongoing is blue,
0 to 12 years is lime, 0 to 2 years is gold, 3 to 7 years is aqua, 0 to 7 years is magenta, and
8 to 12 years is purple.
When reviewing the Status Report, it is important to remember that 1998-99 workplans were
developed before approval of the Comprehensive Plan. Given that, it is impressive how
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many of the programs of the Comprehensive Plan are already included in City activities.
Further, it can be seen that many activities are proposed to be undertaken during the 1999-01
budget years. It is the expectation of staff that the Status Report will show even more
progress when prepared as part of the interim (2000-01) budget review process.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment A: 1998-99 Comprehensive Plan Implementation Plan Status Report
PREPARED BY:Melissa Cavallo, Assistant Director, Administrative Services
Shannon Gaffney, Senior Financial Analyst
DEPARTMENT HEAD APPROVAL:
,_,~,T.YEAT
lrec or, Admlmstrat~ve Services
Director,and Community Environment
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
CC:N/A
Manager
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