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Commission Powers. Chris, can you explain the subdivision section? <br />YUEN: Right now, the Charter gives the Planning Director certain powers <br />with respect to subdivisions, and there's been talk about re -organizing this so that it <br />would fall under the Department of Public Works, or possibly be shared with the <br />Department of Public Works. In any event, there would have to be an ordinance <br />passed to do this because beside the Charter saying the Planning Director approves <br />the subdivisions, the Subdivision Code says the same thing, naturally, because <br />that's what the Charter says. So, in discussions with the Planning Director, the best, <br />or the cleanest, way of doing this was simply to make it clear in the Charter that the <br />Council, by passing an Ordinance, could move the functions around, and then they'll <br />work with drafting an Ordinance, but take away the obstacle in the Charter to <br />reassigning the powers and duties, as far as subdivisions. <br />HERKES: So you not only took away the obstacle, you actually made it <br />proactive that they could do that. <br />RAY: <br />YUEN: <br />He just said 'may'. <br />Yes, they may do that. <br />RAY: This question's been posed to me. How come we took this <br />approach in regard to the Administration's suggestion about creating a Division of <br />Permitting vs. such a stronger approach in regard to creating a Department of <br />Environmental Services? In other words, with the one, we decided that this is <br />something we felt the Administration and the Council should deal with if they want to, <br />this Division of Permitting. Whereas, in regard to the Department of Environmental <br />Services, without even getting a suggestion from the Administration, we've decided to <br />create a new department. <br />HERKES: <br />RAY: <br />Do you want a suggestion on an answer for that? <br />I'm just passing on the comment. <br />HERKES: What 1 would say is we are becoming more urbanized. The <br />Department of Permitting, we are beginning to have our land zoned, beginning to be <br />able to look at permitting as a movable object but not such a loose object. And as we <br />become more populated, Environmental Services take on a huge importance in our <br />structure. <br />RAY: Okay, but to get back to the permitting. So if we feel strongly <br />about the permitting, why don't we go ahead and create a Division of Permitting? <br />IRVINE: Because the discussion we had, as I recall, was we were really <br />going that way and then it just appeared that you really can get a permit quite quickly; <br />32 <br />