City Planner II - Historic Preservation Planner

The City of Roanoke values the cultural, historically, and architecturally significant buildings and sites within its borders. The City encourages the preservation, enhancement, and maintenance of such properties through administration of design guidelines; and works to identify additional resources with cultural, historical and/or architectural significance through survey and documentation. The City of Roanoke is seeking a City Planner II to lead this important work! 

The Opportunity

The position is responsible for leading preservation activities as follows:

• Provides staff support to the City’s Architectural Review Board, evaluating and approving projects eligible for administrative review, on-site consulting with residents, contractors and design professionals on projects, reviewing preservation project site and building plans for general zoning compliance, inspecting projects to ensure compliance with approved Certificates of Appropriateness.
• Leads preservation planning and implementation projects, including the development of an inclusive Preservation Plan for the City of Roanoke; an inclusive Preservation Plan acknowledges the gaps in Telling the Full Roanoke Story  our local preservations efforts to date and makes recommendations to implement actions to fill those gaps.
• Applies for grants and manages survey and nomination projects.  
• Maintains Certified Local Government (CLG) status with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. 
• Serves as the City’s liaison for all matters pertaining to historic preservation, including, response to Section 106 contact. 
• Additional job responsibilities include but are not limited to working with residents, Council-appointed boards and commissions, neighborhood and civic organizations, governmental agencies, and other City departments; and organizing, directing and preparing technical planning reports and studies, including data collection and survey, mapping, graphics, public information materials, and proposed ordinance amendments. 

The City of Roanoke is an Equal Employment Opportunity/AA/M/F/Disability Employer. To elevate the performance of the organization, we are committed to respecting, celebrating, and embracing the collective mixture of differences and similarities between our employees as a rich tapestry. Our behaviors will demonstrate open communication, and we will seek opportunities to learn, recognizing and rewarding actions that promote acceptance while suspending judgment. By doing this, we will foster an inclusive, open work environment that delivers excellent service and creates a more vibrant and inviting community.

This is an exempt position.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• Advocates for the importance of maintaining the historic fabric of the Historic Districts and educates the community regarding associated public participation processes
• Coordinates and facilitates historic planning activities with citizens, neighborhood associations, other departments and staff, City Council, Council - appointed boards, and outside organizations
• Works with a wide variety of parties, including property owners, architects, contractors, code enforcement inspectors, and building inspectors to offer guidance towards compliance for Certificate of Appropriateness proposals within the H-1 and/or H-2 Historic Districts Design Guidelines
• Works with applicants and manages Certificate of Appropriateness applications by: evaluating requests, writing staff reports, and presenting recommendations to the Architectural Review Board on major building and site alterations; or reviewing and signing-off on minor building and site alterations
• Reviews development plans and other applications within the historic district for compliance with the Certificate of Appropriateness, zoning ordinance, and related development codes
• Conducts inspections of the approved exterior building and site alterations for properties located within the Historic Districts
• May develop/update Historic District Design Guidelines through intensive citizen participation processes.
• Review and sign off on Section 106 reviews.
• Prepare Certified Local Government (CLG) Grant Applications to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources for preservation grant projects for national and state nominations of new historic districts.   
• May supervise and manage planning and development projects contracted to private consultants.
• Assist Planning Department staff on other short term or long term planning projects or special projects as needed.

Thisjobhasnosupervisoryresponsibilities.

Education and/or Experience
Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university in historic preservation, urban planning, architectural history, or a related field is required. A Master’s degree in historic preservation or a related field is preferred but not required. Three to five years of related experience and/or training in an urban community, with familiarity in historic preservation principles, is strongly desired. An equivalent combination of education and experience that demonstrates the ability to succeed in a public-facing role within a local government setting will also be considered.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations
Possession of a valid driver’s license issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Language Skills
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents. Ability to respond to inquiries or complaints from citizens, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community both orally and in writing. Ability to effectively present information to management, public groups, and/or boards of directors. Strong skills in negotiation and conflict resolution.

Reasoning Ability
Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret and work with a wide variety of variables in both standard and non-standard situations.

Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

This job description is intended to define the general character and scope of duties and responsibilities of all positions within this job classification. It is not designed to describe or list every essential job function for a specific position in the classification.