Some of you may wonder—what exactly does a planning department do? What is it that they are planning? Sometimes it seems as if everything in an area has already been earmarked for something, so what is there left to plan?

This department serves to map out what happens in the unincorporated part of Madera County. They oversee land use to ensure that is falls within zoning regulations. This means that a huge superstore cannot just come in to build their next location in an area that has been slated from residential use only.

Not only do they have to look at zoning, they must consider traffic flow and other factors that will affect the area once a new structure is built or whenever an element is added or taken away from a neighborhood.

When someone needs a building permit—this is where they do because the planning department reviews and approves these permits.

They issue zoning and conditional use permits and they are the ones who call people to task when they misuse these permits.

The planning department has charge over are programs that have been adopted at the state level. These programs cover areas like affordable housing, surface mining and land conservation.

Plan to return on Thursday to read more about the work of this department.