A Bright Spot in My Day:
From the Planning Director
Unsung Heroes: The beauty of a successful team is that each team member contributes their best skills. Our Planning and Development Department team commands a broad spectrum of evolving skills to propel the department’s diverse range of projects and services forward.
One of our operation’s most critical skill sets rests with our administrative team. It’s this group of four people who make sure our customers’ needs are met and that the documents get to the right place on time. Our administrative team includes Kevin Shuff, Manager, and John Cox, Alicia Mendoza, and Ashley Velasquez.
Our administrative team members are often the first point of contact, the ambassadors who make the first impression with the public. They are the friendly faces or voices you hear when you call our offices. They find the Planner of the Day for you, answer your questions about Commission agenda items and transfer you to the right department.
In the first two months of the year (before COVID-19) they greeted 255 walk-up visitors a month. Pivoting and taking pandemic procedures in stride, the team handles a high volume of calls, emails and requests to provide our customers with answers they need, quickly and accurately, during these unprecedented times.
Behind the scenes, our administrative professionals send out notifications for variances and other public hearings. This work ensures that projects meet state notification laws and that property owners are kept abreast of activity in their neighborhood.
During the first six months of this year, this dedicated team printed, stuffed and posted more than 24,000 notification letters. Lined end-to-end, those letters would stretch 3.5 miles.
Since the beginning of the year, they have routed 850 original plat documents to the right place, making sure that our customers’ work gets recorded correctly and their property records are secured.
This team is part of the essential services we continue to provide to our customers and the residents of Houston. It’s one of the ways this department keeps Houston moving in the right direction.
Also, we value the health and safety of our colleagues and community. Remember to protect yourself, your loved ones and everyone around you. Mask up.
Margaret Wallace Brown, A.I.C.P.
Director,
Planning and Development Department