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<\/p>\nOrange County issues roughly 81,000 vertical building permits a year \u2014 including projects small in scope, like a 150-square-foot addition to a single-family home, to projects that are truly \u201cEpic\u201d in size, like Universal\u2019s new 750-acre theme park along Universal Boulevard.<\/p>\n
Residential and commercial properties in unincorporated Orange County \u2014 popular restaurants, thriving subdivisions, grocery stores and healthcare providers \u2014 wouldn\u2019t be here without the work of Orange County\u2019s Development Services employees.<\/p>\n
These employees, numbering more than 400, are known as Team 400, and they\u2019re embedded within 17 divisions and nearly a dozen County buildings. Despite working together on thousands of projects, they\u2019re never together under the same roof.<\/p>\n
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That changed at the first-ever Dream Builders Conference on March 15, 2024, at the Orange County Convention Center. The inaugural conference celebrated Team 400, their commitment to customer service, and the valuable role they play in the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is unprecedented in that we\u2019ve never pulled the entire services staff together for one program,\u201d said Jon Weiss, Deputy Orange County Administrator.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re here to support the community in building their dreams, and as people move here, they need our help with this. The analogy \u2018hitting on all cylinders\u2019 truly applies when it comes to understanding the dynamics and the dependencies of the permitting process.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Mayor Jerry L. Demings took office in 2018, he prioritized improving customer service within Development Services. He encouraged County leadership to find creative ways through innovation, teamwork and problem-solving to help projects get through the approval process.<\/p>\n
Through this initiative, Team 400 was born. Each Team 400 employee is required to participate in training to ensure consistency, standardize and improve communication protocols, enhance customer-service culture, adopt the newest technologies, and collaborate for efficient records research. Another product of the Team 400 initiative was the formation of a nine-member Project Assistance Team. The Project Assistance Team, created in the summer of 2023, works with developers from concept to completion to identify challenges and find solutions.<\/p>\n
Team 400 is \u201call about training and culture-building,\u201d said Leslie King, Orange County Development Services Learning Advisor. \u201cThe approach is cross-functional and collaborative because there are 17 divisions that have a hand in the permitting process, which can be complicated and complex. With everyone on the same page, we\u2019re better able to move the process forward to get projects completed in a timely and convenient manner.\u201d<\/p>\n
The inaugural Dream Builders Conference showcased the work of Team 400 and encouraged relationship strengthening with a full afternoon of breakout sessions, presentations, team-building exercises, panel discussions, and more.<\/p>\n
Several development industry leaders were present to share the results of their projects and give thanks to County staff. Employees in attendance were encouraged to connect with teammates they had never met in person through a scavenger hunt. This activity proved to be extremely valuable and highly engaging for County staff.<\/p>\n
At the conference, Mayor Demings noted that over the last three years, Team 400 has led to the issuance of 243,324 building permits with the average annual development value exceeding $2 billion.<\/p>\n
\u201cA unified approach to development services better serves the community, and Team 400 was created to drive home this culture of collaboration and taking customer service to a new level,\u201d Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings said during his welcome speech. \u201cProgress has been made, but we\u2019re still not perfect. However, we continue to strive for perfection.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Team 400 initiative and conference succeeded in creating the type of work environment in which employees feel part of something bigger as they continue to grow and develop both professionally and personally. The team has been strengthened and team members report that they feel good about the services they provide to the local community.<\/p>\n