Senior Planner

Employer
Oconee County Board of Commissioners
Watkinsville, Georgia

Description
The purpose of this classification is to assist with administering and maintaining the County’s Unified Development Code and Community Agenda to coordinate rezoning, land use development, site development review, transportation, and infrastructure planning. This position reports to the Planning & Code Enforcement Director.

• Serves as liaison to developers, architects, engineers, surveyors and others in answering questions and interpreting the County’s Unified Development Code and other land use, planning and development matters.
• Serves as staff advisor to the Planning Commission and as the department representative on the Development Review Committee; duties include insuring the following are met: scheduling of meetings, preparing agendas, legal and public notifications, composing minutes, and maintaining meeting records;
• Supervises and performs reviews for completeness of applications for rezoning, special use approval, variance requests; Generates analysis of requests for recommendation and public presentation; Presents recommendations of the Planning Commission and/or the Development Review Committee; attends Board of Commissioners meetings and responds to policy issues and questions.
• Assists with maintaining the county’s Community Agenda; duties include researching and gathering data related to planning, economic development, housing and land use issues, preparing maps, and drafting revisions to the plan document; helps coordinate the plan approval process; assists in the development of work programs to implement plan revisions.
• Assists the Planning Director with implementing department goals, policies and objectives; coordinates and assists the Planning Director with daily staff duties and obligations, in addition to staff development and training.
• Develops extensive knowledge of the content and requirements of the County’s Unified Development Code and Community Agenda; including additional resource information from the County’s tax digest, tax maps, recorded plats and deeds, technical manuals, building code books and other related development documents; generates amendments and professional opinions and recommendations for amendments to the Unified Development Code.
• Supervises and maintains the department’s webpage on the County’s website; Modifies and updates the department’s webpage to include current agenda items and requests for Planning Commission and Board of Commissioner meetings; coordinates website updates and modifications with the County’s designated web master.
• Reviews applications and development plans for all non-residential and residential projects; coordinates review of plans with staff from other County departments assigned to the Development Review Committee; Building Inspection, Code Enforcement, Public Works, Utilities, Environmental Health, Fire, EMA, and other departments involved with the development approval process; approves and processes final construction plans for non-residential and residential development.
• Processes and reviews administrative and final plats for compliance and approval; Maintains comprehensive database of approved and recorded administrative and final plats. Maintains orderly administrative and final plat records and files.
• Maintains a comprehensive, current knowledge and awareness of applicable laws/regulations; maintains an awareness of new trends and advances in the profession; reads professional literature; maintains professional affiliations; attends workshops and training sessions as appropriate; attends planning conferences, seminars, and training sessions to maintain knowledge of Federal and State planning trends, laws, policies, and practices in local government.
• Performs professional planning services for the County’s incorporated cities as directed by the Board of Commissioners.

Job Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in City Planning, Community & Regional Planning, Civil Engineering, Landscape Architecture, or other closely related field;
• a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning or closely related field and/or American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) certification is encouraged;
• Supplemented by three (3) to five (5) years previous experience and/or training that includes urban planning and public administration; supervising planning processes; similar city or county planning department or private planning firm experience preferred; or any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience which provides the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities for this job.
• Must possess and maintain a valid Georgia driver’s license.

Salary Range
$58,900 – $87,522

How to Apply
To apply, please complete our online application. Resumes are not accepted in lieu of applications, however, they may be attached to your application submission.

To apply in person, we are located at 23 N. Main Street, Watkinsville, GA 30677. Please use the side entrance. Human Resources is located on the 2nd floor.

Deadline
12/19/2025