Planning is human, but implementation is divine. No matter how compelling your community’s vision is, it doesn’t matter if great projects cannot get approved and built. ZUS founder Dan Zack has reformed entitlements processes as part of the planning department leadership team, shepherded projects through the entitlement process as a staff planner, and assisted developers through the process as a consultant. He can help developers design a project that meets community goals and complies with local codes while also succeeding in the marketplace, and then he can help guide them through the approval process.
Examples of Zack’s development entitlement work include:
Downtown Development Czar
Year(s): 2021
Role: City Staff
Jurisdiction: City of Fresno
During his final year with the City of Fresno, Mr. Zack was asked to lead incoming Mayor Dyer’s ambitus Downtown revitalization program. The Mayor understood the critical importance of development, particularly housing, to the long-term viability of Downtown, and Downtown’s importance to the success of the entire city. He set a goal of producing 3,500 units in the city center by the end of the decade. Mr. Zack worked with property owners, investors, and developers to put together viable project teams and help all involved understand the immense potential of infill housing. He assisted pipeline projects with design matters and entitlement processing, and he worked with the sponsors of defunct proposals to reactive the projects. When he left the position 166 units were under construction, nearly 400 were under review, and over 1,000 were in early stages of design and site selection.
Small Developer Training Program
Year(s): 2021
Role: City Staff
Jurisdiction: City of Fresno
Mr. Zack conceived of and organized this program, which provided training to local residents interested in developing small infill projects. Infill projects had been moving forward in Fresno, but there was a need for a significant increase in activity. With local development knowledge concentrated in a small number of developers who were experienced with greenfield development, it became apparent that there was a need to train a new generation of developers committed to sustainable, context-sensitive, and equitable infill projects. The training was provided by the Incremental Development Alliance. An introductory seminar was held in March, with over 100 members of the community in attendance. In September, 20 residents attended a month-long advanced-level boot camp which was intended to prepare them to submit plans for permits and to pitch their projects to investors and lenders. Several students have development projects in progress.
Additional Information:
Current Planning Division Leadership
Year(s): 2020
Role: City Staff
Jurisdiction: City of Fresno
During the entirety the year 2020 Mr. Zack oversaw the Current Planning Division of the Planning and Development Department. In this capacity Mr. Zack oversaw a staff of 20 planners and promoted the Planning Manager. His team processed all planning entitlements within the City, including the Development Review Committee (an interdepartmental group that reviews pre-application submittals), Zone Clearances, Development Permits (site plan review), Conditional Use Permits, annexations, and subdivisions. In this capacity Mr. Zack also served as staff liaison to the Planning Commission and supported them at the dais during their meetings.
VMT Strategy
Year(s): 2019 to 2020
Role: City Staff
Jurisdiction: City of Fresno
In response to SB 743, the City of Fresno formed a staff team (which included Mr. Zack) and retained LSA as consultants to develop a strategy to implement Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) as the new standard for determining the environmental impacts of traffic. The group developed thresholds, determined high, moderate, and low VMT areas, and developed mitigation measures. To this end, Mr. Zack developed a VMT reduction calculator which would assess whether a project would produce less or more VMT than the average for the surrounding area based on its design, thereby offering projects in high-VMT areas a way to self-mitigate by having a connected street network, pedestrian and bike facilities, mixed uses, and other characteristics known to shorten driving distances and reduce the number of vehicular trips.
Downtown Entitlement Processing
Year(s): 2011 to 2014
Role: City Staff
Jurisdiction: City of Redwood City
Following the adoption of the Downtown Precise Plan, Mr. Zack ushered the first seven projects through the new review and approval process that was created by the plan, including presentations before the Architectural Review Committee and the Planning Commission. All of them were approved within three to six months of submission, which is noteworthy for high-density infill housing projects in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Redwood Towers Disposition and Development Agreement
Year(s): 2010 to 2014
Role: City Staff
Jurisdiction: City of Redwood City
This project consisted of the development of a City-owned surface parking lot adjacent to the Caltrain commuter rail station. Mr. Zack served as project manager and wrote the Request for Qualifications and Request for Proposals and oversaw the developer selection process. The project also involved the creation of a parcel map to create the project site and a new public open space, the relocation of a box culvert, the creation of a parcel map for the project site, and the design of a public open space, and a shared parking agreement between the developer and the City. The project was successfully constructed and is now the headquarters of the cloud storage company Box.
Stanford University, Redwood City Satellite Campus
Year(s): 2009 to 2011
Role: City Staff
Jurisdiction: City of Redwood City
Part of the staff team that reviewed a major entitlement application for a satellite campus of Stanford University east of Downtown Redwood City. In particular, he conducted a shadow study, prepared a report on a possible streetcar connection form the camps to the Downtown transit center as a potential transportation demand management (TDM) measure, and worked to ensure that the campus was broken into streets and blocks that would integrate seamlessly with the surrounding area.
Planner on Duty
Year(s): 2009 to 2011
Role: City Staff
Jurisdiction: City of Redwood City
During a time of staff shortages due to retirements and family leave, Mr. Zack assisted with staffing at the permit counter. For 4 to 12 hours per week he assisted customers with zoning questions, verified zoning compliance for business licenses, and received and processed entitlement applications.