Responding to pressure from neighborhood residents and a poor grade from a government audit, the city's planning department will be reorganized to ensure proper procedures are followed.
"The Salt Lake City Planning Department, shaken by claims of favoritism and failing to follow permit procedures, will be reorganized, according to Community Development Director Louis Zunguze.
The department will remain open for business, Zunguze said Wednesday, but over the next 90 days, managers will begin to develop clear planning standards and ensure that developers and residents who come for services know what they need to do and what the department itself is required to do.
The shake-up comes during a time when residents' frustration over Planning Department behavior has reached a crisis point.
Continuing frustrations include monster homes and garages, as well as a lack of consistency on policing new projects.
Residents also have claimed - to no avail - that the department has approved changes to historical neighborhoods without due process.
A city-commissioned performance audit and widespread discontent among members of community councils spurred Zunguze's move."
FULL STORY: SLC planning department due overhaul after claims of favoritism, procedural lapses
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