The City of Santa Rosa has an exciting opportunity for an experienced Senior Planner to join our dynamic team of professionals managing exciting new development projects within our community
Salary: $115,346.00 - $140,202.00 Annually
Location: 100 Santa Rosa Ave Santa Rosa, CA
Department: Planning & Economic Development
Opening Date: 10/28/2025
Closing Date: 11/11/2025 11:59 PM Pacific
The City of Santa Rosa is committed to building a workforce reflective of our community and establishing a lasting culture of equity and belonging within our organization. Our collective talents and expertise contribute to high-quality public services that support a vibrant, resilient, inclusive City for our community and visitors. We celebrate a diverse workforce and welcome all qualified candidates to apply.
The Benefits of City Employment:
In addition to a challenging, rewarding work environment and excellent salary, the City offers
12 paid holidays annually, plus 2 to 3 "floating" holidays per year depending on years of service
a competitive leave accrual package
a generous suite of benefits, including retirement through CalPERS, your choice of two health plans, a flexible spending program, and top of the line employer paid vision and dental coverage.
$500 annually for wellness
More information regarding benefits associated with this position can be found on our Miscellaneous Employee Benefits Page.
The Position:
The City of Santa Rosa's Planning and Economic Development Department is seeking to fill two vacant Senior Planner positions (4 or more years of experience), both of which are part of the Development Review (current development) Planning section. While the positions are dedicated to the Development Review team, there may be opportunities for these positions to work with the Advance Planning section on policy work, as needed; someone with experience in both areas of the Planning profession is desired.
Senior Planners are assigned highly responsible, difficult and complex professional work in the field of urban planning including development review, environmental analysis, long range planning, and a wide variety of public policy issues. Professionals at the Senior Planner level will exercise independent judgment, act in a lead capacity or technical expert in a particular area, serve as a staff liaison to a board or commission, or as Zoning Administrator or Environmental Coordinator. Senior Planners provide project oversight, leadership, and indirect supervision of interns, professional planning and clerical staff.
The Ideal Candidate:
Successful candidates for consideration will demonstrate a solid foundation in planning principles and practices, possess at least 4 years of progressively responsible planning experience, preferably in a high volume urban planning environment with extensive public involvement, and possess a Bachelor's degree (Master's and AICP certification is desirable.) They will have excellent communication, interpersonal and mentoring skills, and a strong commitment to providing excellent customer service. Additionally, ideal candidates will be proven self-starters with a strong enthusiasm for the profession, possess excellent organizational skills, and the ability to balance a multi-project workload. A positive customer service orientation, and ability to foster that attitude among co-workers, is essential.
Please complete a thoughtful, thorough supplemental questionnaire submission.
As part of the selection process, your responses to these questions will be scored using criteria specific to this position. Incomplete responses, or responses such as "See Resume," may result in disqualification.
Please complete a thoughtful, thorough supplemental questionnaire submission.
Examples of Duties and Responsibilities
Analyze and interpret social, economic, population and land use data and trends
Prepare written and graphic reports on various planning matters and elements of the general plan
Manage long-range planning projects
Provide technical assistance in the analysis, coordination and implementation of environmental requirements and regulations
Compile information and make recommendations on special studies
Make public presentations, to the city council, various commissions, boards, committees and community groups
Facilitate meetings with the public or decision makers;
Research and draft policy for review
Review rezoning, variance, conditional use permit, subdivision, design review and other related applications
Advise property owners and the general public of the effect and implications of land use, zoning, and development actions
Review development proposals for consistency with the general plan, zoning and design standards
Respond to complaints and requests for information from the public
Manage consultant contracts for environmental and other planning documents and oversee consultant work;
Identify and implement process improvements.
In addition to the duties listed above, Senior Planners may perform the following duties.
Represent the City and explain planning objectives and policies to various organizations, agencies and public groups
Confer with and advise architects, builders, attorneys, contractors, developers, engineers, and the public regarding City development policies and standards
Provide technical staff support to various commissions, boards, committees and community groups
Represent the City by serving as a member of planning related committees
Required Qualifications
Knowledge of: Principles and practices of urban planning and zoning; laws underlying general plans, zoning and land divisions; current literature, information sources and research techniques in the field of urban planning; applicable environmental laws and regulations; computer software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Accela. Knowledge of ArcMap GIS is highly desirable.
Ability to: Analyze and compile technical and statistical data and prepare reports; utilize computer software to prepare professional reports, spreadsheets, maps, and presentations; independently perform the more complex professional planning work; conduct and analyze planning studies and present the findings in an understandable manner; apply planning principles and practices to specific problems and formulate recommendations; manage projects independently, communicate clearly and concisely, orally and in writing; interpret and explain planning and zoning programs to the general public; work under pressure and meet established deadlines; establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers, representatives of other agencies, municipal officials and the public; train and provide indirect supervision to interns, and less experienced planning staff and clerical staff.
Experience and Education: A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be: Experience - Four years of progressively responsible professional planning experience in a public planning environment. Typically, this experience would be comparable to that gained in a high volume, urban planning environment. A master’s degree in a field related to urban planning may be substituted for one (1) year of planning experience. Education – A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major study in planning or a related field considered useful in city planning work. A Master's degree in a field related to planning is desirable.
Additional Information
SELECTION PROCESS:
Applicants will be carefully reviewed for the experience and education qualifications as described above. Depending on the number of applications, either all candidates demonstrating minimum qualifications, OR a smaller number possessing the MOST DESIRABLE qualifications based on a screening of application materials, including answers to the supplemental questionnaire, will be placed on an eligible list. Candidates on the list will be referred to the hiring department for interviews. If additional openings occur in this job classification in the future, candidates may be referred again for consideration.
An image without descriptionAn image without descriptionAn image without description
SANTA ROSA - A WONDERFUL CITY TO CALL HOME
The City of Santa Rosa is located just 55 miles north of San Francisco and 30 miles east of the Pacific Ocean with a population of approximately 180,000. Santa Rosa is the seat of Sonoma County and the center of trade, government, commerce, and medical facilities for the North Bay. The surrounding area is home to over a hundred wineries and vineyards and many beautiful parks and recreational facilities, including golf courses. Santa Rosa is in the center of a nationally recognized cycling area. We boast many attractions associated with large cities, including a symphony, performing arts center, theater productions and internationally recognized restaurants, yet still retain the warmth and small town feel of decades past. Santa Rosa has been named one of the 50 greenest cities in the United States with one of the top five mid-sized downtowns in California.
The City does not discriminate on the basis of disability in employment. Requests for reasonable accommodations needed to participate in the recruitment process may be made by submitting a Request for Reasonable Accommodation Form within five (5) business days of being noticed that an event requiring accommodation is occurring.
