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Job Description
Description
The City of Palo Alto is seeking an experienced city planner who enjoys working in a dynamic, vibrant community. In this unique opportunity, the Long Range Planning Group has a vacancy which can be filled at all levels ranging from Associate Planner to Senior Planner, depending on qualifications. The Long Range Planning program engages with the community to guide and develop the City’s land use, community development, and housing policies and programs. This team is responsible for advancing City Council land use policy priorities and initiatives; Housing Element implementation; area plan development; Comprehensive Plan amendments; and managing the City’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, Below Market Rate (BMR) housing program, and Rental Registry program. This fast-paced team offers an opportunity to work on a variety of strategic policy and projects that enhance and preserve the Palo Alto community for the future.
PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT
The Palo Alto Planning and Development Services Department provides the City Council and community with creative guidance and effective implementation of land use development, planning, housing, and environmental policies and programs in order to maintain and enhance the City’s safety, vitality, and attractiveness. For more information on Planning in the City of Palo Alto, click here
IDEAL CANDIDATE
The ideal candidate will possess the following:- Ability to write clearly and communicate effectively; ability to prepare and write high quality staff reports, professional documents, and communications;
- Ability to handle a variety of assignments and adapt quickly to changing priorities and assignments;
- Experience in housing policy development, housing element program implementation, zoning code interpretations and amendments;
- A strong customer service focus and superior interpersonal skills with the ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with co-workers, management, elected officials, community members, and representatives of public and regulatory agencies;
- Experience working with consultants;
- For Senior Planner, strong project management skills; experience with development of specific/area plans.
Depending on applicant qualifications, the position may be filled at the appropriate level/salary of Associate Planner, Planner, or Senior Planner.
Essential Duties
Essential duties vary by position, with increasing levels of experience and responsibility across the positions included in this listing, in the following order of increasing seniority: Associate, Planner, Senior.
To see the complete job description of Associate Planner, click here .
To see the complete job description of Planner, click here .
To see the complete job description of Senior Planner, click here.
Minimum Qualifications
For Associate Planner:
Sufficient education, training and/or work experience to demonstrate possession of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities which would typically be acquired through:- Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning, Environmental Studies or related field from an accredited college or university, and
- Two years of related experience in urban, conservation, or planning
For Planner:
Sufficient education, training and/or work experience to demonstrate possession of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities which would typically be acquired through:- Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning or related field from an accredited college or university, and
- Three years of suitable professional experience in urban planning. An advanced degree is highly desirable
For Senior Planner:
Sufficient education, training and/or work experience to demonstrate possession of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities which would typically be acquired through:- Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning, Architecture, Historic Preservation or a directly related field from an accredited college or university. An advanced degree is highly desirable, and
- Five years of suitable professional experience in urban planning (or substitute for up to two years of experience a master's degree in planning or a related field).
Special Requirements: All positions require possession of a valid California Driver's License.
Supplemental Information
This position must periodically participate in public meetings during non-business hours and evening meetings of boards, commissions, or city council.
Position is represented by SEIU. Salary ranges shown include the broad range from Associate Planner through Senior Planner. Actual salary will be based upon position level hired and candidate qualifications. The SEIU salary schedule can be found here .
The City offers generous employee benefits, which can be found here.
More than one position may be filled through this posting.
Hiring Process: Applicants will receive email recruitment status notifications. Governmentjob.com account also has notification status updates.
Depending on the number of qualified applications received, the examination process may consist of a supplemental question, online assessment, written examination, practical performance, oral examination, or any combination to determine which candidate will move forward in the hiring process.
The City of Palo Alto is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City will provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.
See our Benefits at a Glance Bookletfor more details.
Learn more about our Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) between the City and its bargaining units, by clicking HERE.
Closing Date/Time: 11/11/2025 11:59 PM Pacific -
ABOUT THE COMPANY
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City of Palo Alto
Show moreThe Community
The birthplace of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, is a community of approximately 68,000 residents and nearly 100,000 jobs. Located on the mid-Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose, Palo Alto is recognized worldwide as a leader in cutting-edge technology, medicine, and green innovation. The community's treelined streets and historic buildings reflect its California heritage, and, at the same time, many world-class businesses maintain or started offices here, such as Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Amazon, Broadcom, Hewlett-Packard, Houzz, Rivian, SAP and SAP Ariba, Tesla, and Varian Medical Systems. Numerous start-ups are also at home in Palo Alto, arguably making it the start-up capital of the world. Stanford University is foundational to the history and prestige of Palo Alto, reflected in the community's dedication to lifelong learning. Stanford's cultural and educational offerings are integral to the vibrancy and charm of Palo Alto, while the City's exceptional K-12 school district ranks among the top public-school systems in the country. With more than 50% of adult residents holding a graduate degree or higher, Palo Alto is frequently listed as one of the most educated cities in the nation. Palo Alto boasts a genuine sense of community and an active citizenry with strong environmental values. Beautiful neighborhoods are complemented by vibrant commercial corridors and a bustling economy featuring premium shopping and dining options. Excellent healthcare facilities, performing arts, and diverse recreational opportunities are some of the community's incredibly desirable and cherished amenities. To learn more, visit https://www.paloalto.gov/Departments/City-Manager/Latest-NewsCity Government
Palo Alto is a full-service charter city with a council-manager form of government. The seven-member City Council is elected at large, and the City Council annually selects the Mayor and Vice Mayor from among its members. The Mayor and City Council appoint the City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Auditor. The City Manager is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the City. Palo Alto is organized into 15 departments/offices with 1,093.10 authorized positions in FY 2025. There is also a FY 2025 capital budget of $316.2 million. Palo Alto owns and operates its own utilities, including electricity (carbon-neutral), gas, water, wastewater, and an expanding fiber network. This dynamic municipal environment ensures an ever-engaging platform for unique problem-solving and advances new initiatives, including sustainability, broadband, and effective service delivery. Community assets also include five libraries, 36 parks, five community centers, a museum and zoo, youth centers, a general aviation airport, an 18-hole golf course, a regional water treatment plant, and wildland open space preserves at the San Francisco Bay and in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains offering 41 miles of walking/biking trails in addition to its police, fire, and ambulance services. Palo Alto has long been a leader in sustainability, and the City's ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals are part of what sets it apart. Since the City's first Climate Protection Plan was passed in 2007, Palo Alto has set goals that exceed State and Federal targets. Today, the City's goal to reduce emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2030 (the "80x30" goal) and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 guides sustainability efforts. An award-winning City, Palo Alto is recognized nationally as innovative and well-managed. City services and performance also receive impressive marks from community members in the Palo Alto Community Survey.
Many of those ratings put City programs and services in the highest percentiles among the hundreds of benchmark cities. Palo Alto makes decisions through comprehensive processes and proactively seeks to involve its extremely informed, educated, and engaged residents. Projects are naturally a cooperative effort among the City Council, Boards, Commissions, Committees, engaged residents, neighborhoods, businesses, property owners, and staff.
Join an Award Winning Team
Palo Alto is an award-winning City recognized nationwide as innovative and well-managed. Palo Alto is one of a small number of California cities with a AAA bond rating. Recently, Palo Alto became one of the most livable cities in the U.S. by Livability.com. It's the only city to receive the Platinum Beacon Award in sustainability best practices by California’s Institute for Local Government. We offer a variety of career paths that relate to building and improving communities. The City has fourteen departments employing 1,000 full-time staff. Police officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and building inspectors keep us safe. Engineers and public works staff build and re-build the physical infrastructure. City planners help envision and shape future community growth. Recreation, arts and library professionals enhance community life. Utilities provides electric, gas, water, sewer and other services. Internal services departments help manage, staff, and protect the City.
Want to learn more about our benefits? Learn more by reviewing our "Benefits at a Glance Booklet."
Contact Us
Phone: 650-329-2376
Email: Recruit@paloalto.gov
Location: City Hall, 1st Floor | 250 Hamilton Ave 94301 | View Map
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