Welcome to Community Development

The Mission of the Community Development Department

“Excellence in customer service by providing courteous, timely and professional service to the citizens of Polk County through innovation in administration of planning, building and environmental health regulations and policies in order to protect the health and safety of the citizens of the County.”

The Community Development Department is divided into the following three divisions and two programs.

The Planning Division is responsible for managing the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and administering the County’s zoning regulations and long range land use planning. The Planning Director is Austin McGuigan. He is assisted by Planning Manager Jerry Sorte, Assistant Planner Autumn Hillebrand, and Planning Technician Katie Lambert.

Land use permits – conditional uses, zone changes, variances, etc.
Site development plan review
Long range planning
Flood plain administration (non-structural such as fill and removal)
Hazard mitigation planning
Nuisance complaint and code compliance investigation and enforcement
Road naming and addressing

The Building Division is responsible for administering the building permit and inspection program in accordance with State building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and manufactured dwelling setup codes. The Building Official is Mark Burrows. The commercial plumbing inspector is Willy Andrist. The electrical inspector is Gary Noble. An additional building and electrical inspector is Rich Morse. The Permits Specialist is Katie Lambert and the Building Technician is Ronda Hipp.

Building Permits – County and Falls City only (not Dallas, Monmouth, Independence)
Manufactured Structure Permits – County and cities except Salem
Electrical Permits – County, Falls City, City of Dallas, City of Independence and City of Monmouth

(Effective July 1, 2011, Electrical Permits for properties within the Monmouth city limits will be administered by the City of Monmouth)

Plumbing Permits – County and Falls City only
Mechanical Permits – County and Falls City only
Flood plain standards oversight for structures (County only)
Construction inspection for Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde

The Environmental Health Division is responsible for the review and approval of permits for the installation of septic tanks and drain fields, licensing and inspecting restaurants, swimming pools and tourist facilities, monitoring drinking water systems for compliance with Safe Drinking Water Act, administering the solid waste collection franchise ordinance and coordinating recycling efforts, and conducting food handlers classes. The Environmental Health Supervisor/Sanitarian is Jim Solvedt. Click for information on Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events.

Food Handler Permits
Restaurant licensing and inspection
Temporary restaurant licensing and inspection
School food service inspection
Day care inspections (upon request only)
Public swimming pool and spa pool licensing and inspection
Motel and RV park licensing and inspection
Camp licensing and inspection
Safe drinking water monitoring and compliance
Solid waste administration (County garbage collector franchising)
Dead deer pickup on County roads
Recycling coordination
Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events
Animal bite investigation (rabies)
Ambulance service ordinance administration
Vector borne disease investigation (rats and mosquitoes)
Food, animal and waterborne disease investigation (concurrently with the Public Health Dept.)

The Code Compliance program is responsible for investigating complaints and obtaining compliance with the County’s regulations.

Provides investigation of complaints and code violations for the three divisions listed above.
Coordinates formal enforcement actions with law enforcement agencies, other regulatory agencies and County attorney.

The Economic Development program is responsible for coordinating economic development and infrastructure development activities throughout the County and administrating grant programs that support these kinds of activities.

Polk County’s video lottery receipts
Coordination of Federal grant programs ranking process
Rural Investment Fund
Regional Investment Fund
Other grant programs
Long range planning