Planning Commissioners Journal

Planning Commissioners Journal to be replaced by new membership-based PlannersWeb.com site this summer

We have just posted information about our transition plans:

How You'll Benefit as a PlannersWeb Member and have access to some 500 past Planning Commissioners Journal articles, plus new content.

Membership & Pricing Information. Receive 4 extra months' of membership by signing up now,

FAQ: Answers to Questions about Our New Site.

Download Our Two-Page Flier about the PlannersWeb.

Inventory Clearance on Reprint Collections & Back Issues

From Planning Comm'rs Journal Editor Wayne Senville:

As many of you know, with our Spring issue -- available shortly -- we're ending publication of the printed Planning Commissioners Journal. We've just posted information about our plans to re-launch our PlannersWeb.com site as a membership only online publication and resource. If you're a current Planning Commissioners Journal subscriber you'll also find an insert with detailed information enclosed in your copy of our Spring issue.

As we begin to transition to an all online publication and web resource, we are clearing our inventory. We've substantially reduced the prices on our reprint collections & back issues. Each of our reprint collections is now available for just $16.75, while our back issues are available for only $7.50 each (we have a very limited quantity of several back issues).This will likely be your last chance to purchase hard copies of our reprint collections & back issues. When our PlannersWeb site is relaunched on August 1st, the only hard copy publication that we plan to keep available for purchase will be our Welcome to the Commission Guide -- and that will only be available for order by PlannersWeb members.

Available by May 7th: Our Spring Issue

Note to PCJ subscribers: copies of the Spring issue will be mailed out between May 1st and May 7th. Information will be enclosed with the Spring issue with details on our plans to transition to an online publication. If you have remaining issues in your current PCJ subscription, you'll receive information on how your payment can be credited to our new members-only web site, or how you can obtain other PCJ publications or a refund.

Order a print copy of this issue. Will be mailed out by May 7th -- $15.00.

Contents of our Spring 2012 Issue:
	Our Feature Article: Just What Do Planning Commissioners Do? by PCJ Editor, Wayne Senville Over the past twenty years, the primary goal of the Planning Commissioners Journal has been to help citizen planners -- especially members of local planning and zoning boards -- do their job better. But just what is the role and what are the responsibilities of a planning commissioner?
Challenges & Opportunities Eight of our regular contributing writers take a look at challenges and opportunities facing planning commissions and their communities: Autos & Aging by Hannah Twaddell Credibility Is Essential by Elaine Cogan Flexibility Is a Virtue by Carolyn Braun Engaging in Planning by Della Rucker The Place Where We Live by Edward T. McMahon Redefining Our Future by Wendy Grey Change & Its Impacts by Jim Segedy & Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy
Looking Back, Moving Forward We invited our readers to tell us about their home town, how their planning commission functions, and what they see as their major challenges. Brief reports from planners and planning commissioners in seven quite different communities.

Our Updated & Expanded Welcome to the Commission Guide for New Members

If you pre-ordered the Guide you should receive your order no later than April 6th. If you have not received the Guide by then, please phone us at: 802-864-9083.

Welcome to the Commission! A Guide for New Members Updated & Expanded 2012 Edition -- Now Including the Planning ABC's -- About the Welcome Guide & the Planning ABC's -- use the Shopping Cart button below to order -- or phone us at: 802-864-9083 (you can request an invoice)

Either order online using the Shopping Cart button to the right, or call us with your order: 802-864-9083. Local governments can request to be invoiced; please phone us. Full money-back guarantee: if, for any reason, you're not satisfied with the Guide, simply return your copy and we'll promptly refund your payment.

Just $19.75 each; plus $5.00 shipping regardless of how many ordered. insert # of copies desired

Our April Special Offer: Sizing Up Our Downtowns

Sizing Up Our Downtowns -- six articles (16 pages) from the Planning Commissioners Journal that can help you better evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your downtown -- available only as a .pdf download.

Sizing Up Our Downtowns includes:   Why Downtowns (Should) Matter to Planning Commissions Sizing Up Downtown Downtown Hurdles "We Don't Have Enough Parking" Downtowns Grow One Step at a Time No Such Thing as Free Parking

Use this button to order & immeidately download Sizing Up Our Downtowns for just $10.75. Substantial savings compared to ordering the articles individually.

A Good Day for Maryland

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

Our thanks to the 304 of you who completed our survey form. We've been going through the many comments and suggestions you gave us -- and will be announcing our plans within the next few weeks.

But in the meantime, there's one outstanding piece of business. We randomly selected the two winners of Amazon.com gift cards ($25 each) for completing the survey.

All we can say is that it was a good day for Maryland! The winners were David Jenkins, Director of Planning & Community Development for the Town of La Plata, Maryland, and Kathleen Maher, Director of Planning for the City of Hagerstown, Maryland. And no, we have no connection with Maryland, other than the fact that I started my cross-country trip on U.S. Route 50 in Maryland five years ago.