The 125-page missive says, "Sadly . . . in far too many cases," residents are viewed as "the enemy" by both management and staff.

For the past decade, "the ineffective process feeds on itself and then continues to degenerate into ever-increasing dysfunction," reads the report by Citygate Associates, which will be presented to the City Council today.

"There was a general feeling of hopelessness and uneasiness among the planning staff," the audit continues, "a malaise due to a failure of leadership."

Citygate outlines nearly 50 recommendations to revamp the capital's land-use and permitting process, but says real reform will require a "cultural change."

The report was commissioned by the city last summer when then-mayoral candidate Ralph Becker repeatedly dissed the division as "a shambles."

In December - before taking over as mayor - Becker fired Community Development Director Louis Zunguze, who supervised planning and zoning. Last month, he fired Planning Director George Shaw and announced a comprehensive overhaul of the division.

Becker says he appreciates the auditors' direct tone as well as their professionalism.

"They weren't using any particular entity or person as a scapegoat," he said Monday. "They said this problem has a lot of facets to it."

A recruitment firm is assisting the city's nationwide search for new directors, says Becker, who expects a holistic fix "within months, not years."

Auditors interviewed 150 city officials before concluding that the division "lacks a clear and cohesive vision."

The operation was panned for a pervasive attitude of fear with no annual objectives, no mechanism to measure performance and a muddled set of business values.

"It is fast becoming a permit center with little or no focus on planning," the audit laments.

The report also notes rampant turnover - five directors in eight years and 11 in the past 20 - has led to less corporate memory, staff burnout, skepticism "and a few planners succumbing to a type of siege mentality." Acting Community Development Director Mary De La Mare-Schaefer says the report is not surprising and that many of the suggested fixes already are policy. She calls the audit a very good change tool.

Shaw, who served as planning director for barely a year and now works as South Jordan's community-development boss, slips much of the blame. He inherited a "highly dysfunctional" work environment, the report states.

But meddling elected officials are another story. The audit scolds them, without naming names, for asking planners on occasion to "make this project work" and ignore city rules when ordinances clearly indicate a "no" answer was warranted.

The report says a message must be sent "in no uncertain terms" that the status quo is unacceptable.

"This kind of reinforces what we have been feeling," says City Councilman Soren Simonsen, an urban planner who points to "candid comments" from staff and customers about the planning problems.

"Hopefully it will rebuild faster than it degraded."

djensen@sltrib.com

Department dysfunctional?

Sky bridge vote tonight

The philosophical fracas and design debate have ended. Tonight, after 18 months of meetings, the City Council is scheduled to vote on City Creek Center's downtown skywalk, planned for 50 S. Main. A four-vote majority - and maybe five or six - appears secure for the bridge. The vote is set for 7 p.m. in the Council Chamber, 451 S. State St.