Planning Commissioners Journal

Staff Deserves TLC

Tip 23 of 25
from Elaine Cogan

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Effective staff/commission relations are vital to the overall success of planning in your community, whether your agency has one, ten, or one hundred employees. Good will and an understanding of the pitfalls that impede sound relationships can help you solve the problems that inevitably arise.

Resist the temptation to “micro-manage.” The longer you are on the planning board, the more familiar you will become with planning jargon and its rules and regulations. Still, though you will know more than most citizens, you should not expect to be a professional planner. Indeed, you would be less effective as a citizen planning commissioner if you were. You should have more than enough to do studying the issues and participating in policy decisions. Play your job well and let the staff know you expect them to do theirs.

Avoid the appearance of favoritism. At social gatherings or at business or professional affairs, do not succumb to the lure of playing the insider’s role by even hinting you have proprietary information on planning matters. Do not contact the planning director or a staff member to suggest they talk to a friend or relative involved in an issue. You may be innocent of any improper motives, but staff may interpret your request as a form of intimidation or less than subtle directive to treat someone differently than other members of the public.

Control your public behavior. Never berate, downgrade, or insult the staff at a public meeting. Abusing them by making them the target or scapegoat before an angry populace may gain you some transitory public support. In the end, however, it will deteriorate what should be a long-term, mutually respectful relationship.

Remember the importance of a simple “thank you -- you did a great job at the hearing last night.” This can be just the right comment to uplift a harassed planning staff when it appears the whole town has taken up arms against them. Take your planning director to lunch. Praise a particular piece of staff work at a public meeting. Write a letter of support to the mayor or city administrator. There are all manner of ways you can -- and should -- show your appreciation for your often overworked and undervalued planners.

Form and nurture a partnership. Accept the fact that there always will be some tension between commissioners and staff. You have different responsibilities and, often, different perspectives. But if you can develop a collegial partnership -- and you can weather its ups and downs -- everyone will benefit.

This is one of the last few weekly installments of PCJ columnist Elaine Cogan's 25 tips for planning commissioners from her excellent Now That You're on Board publication.

The complete attractively-designed, spiral-bound, Now That You're on Board publication is available for purchase and delivery by mail.

Dodge City Places Its Bet

Perhaps you're planning on doing some gambling this New Years' weekend ... maybe even at the new casino in Dodge City, Kansas. I visited Dodge City in June 2007, just a few days before city residents voted to proceed with casino gambling -- authorized earlier that year by the Kansas legislature.

Many in Dodge City view casinos as an important economic development strategy. This short video is the case the winning bidder (Butler National) made for the right to build a casino in Dodge. Take a look, also, at my 2007 post on Dodge City which looks at both sides of the argument on casinos.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about the impacts of casinos. While they can bring new revenues into communities, they also come with a downside too often given short shrift -- the addictive nature of gambling and its potential devastating impact on families. 

For Dodge City, the question also is how well the casinos will fit with the historic "Wild West" image/brand the City is trying to convey and strengthen. That remains to be seen.

New Urbanism & Urban Farms

 The December 2009 issue of New Urban News includes a report by journalist Philip Langdon on a good topic: the growing interest in urban farms. Langdon discusses how this is coming into play in "new urbanist" projects. We've also been following the South Village development, a new urbanist project in our own backyard here in northwestern Vermont. South Village incorporates a community farm as part of the development.

To read the full article, Down on the new urban farm from New Urban News

Here are some brief excerpts to whet your appetite, so to speak:

"New urbanist developers see food production as a vital feature of future residential and mixed use communities. In recent years, Americans have become increasingly concerned about where their food is grown, whether it’s free of contaminants, how far it’s transported, and how consumers can gain a more satisfying relationship to agriculture. These concerns are causing more and more farms and gardens to be planned, and planted, in new urbanist developments. ...

The next few years should see extensive experimentation in how to fit farms and gardens into communities and how to organize their operations and finances. The nation appears to be on the cusp of a more satisfying relationship to food production. New Urbanism, thanks to a varied crew of innovators, is part of a much-needed vanguard."

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In the Planning Commissioners Journal, we've also covered a number of urban agricultural issues, including topics such as community-supported agriculture, urban food supply, and the boom in farmers markets. You can find these articles in our Food, Farmland, & Open Space publication (you can also order & download individual articles from this publication).

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Note: we're taking a break till January 3rd. See you in 2010!

"It's Time to Build a Snowman ... Well, Not So Fast"

 We'll be taking some time off till January 3rd -- so we need to get you our Friday video short early this week. But actually that works out well since the video is a Holiday Greeting card. It's from Ned Ledbetter, a senior zoning enforcement officer. I think after you see it you'll want to share the link with other planners AND anyone on your staff who handles zoning enforcement. Take a look at the short video, then read about it below.

The video is the work of Gontram Architecture, Inc., of Raleigh, North Carolina. I asked Eddie Gontram, a principal of the firm, what was behind this unique holiday greeting. His reply: "We came up with the idea to produce the video this past Fall. In years past, we sent out custom-designed greeting cards for the Holidays that featured a project from that year. This year, we wanted to do something a bit more fun, creative, and unique. We also saw the waste created by greeting cards, and the relatively short lifespan associated with them. We decided to do a video. Then, while brainstorming for ideas, we decided to look at the simple winter activity of building a snowman, and what would happen if the Zoning Code applied to building a snowman."

Gontram adds, "The response has been truly amazing  While we sort of adopted a 'duck and cover' posture once we sent it out, we were hopeful that any zoning or inspections staff that viewed it would have a sense of humor. The very first comment came from a plans examiner, 'If it weren't so close to the truth, I'd have been offended rather than amused.' Several others viewed it, then forwarded it to their entire organization."

To share this video with others, use the Share This link below.

When Attorneys for Developers Contribute to Local Candidates

 Came across an interesting op-ed written by Andy Green, a member of the Baltimore Sun newspaper's editorial board. Green's piece discusses a report by Bryan Sears in the suburban Towson Times paper about how attorneys for developers are making substantial campaign contributions to candidates running for spots on the County's governing body. What happens in Baltimore County is certainly not unique in the U.S., and probably not all that unusual. We'd welcome any comment you'd care to add on how politics and land use mix (or are kept apart) in your own community.

• To read the full op-ed, Developers playing politics in Baltimore County? We're shocked! (Dec. 15, 2009)
• To read the article in the Towson Times that the op-ed is responding to, see Development attorneys working to fill war chests for county council hopefuls (Dec. 11, 2009)

Here are some brief excerpts from Green's op-ed.

"Perhaps the most surprising thing about the report by Bryan Sears of the Towson Times that two development attorneys ... are making a major fundraising push to back favored Baltimore County Council candidates in potentially open races is that they're limiting their ambition to three districts. ... Why not try to buy a clear majority? ...

 Land-use decisions are the County Council's most important power -- and certainly the area in which it has the most potential to affect people's pocketbooks. The typical council practice of extending courtesy over land-use decisions to the councilman in whose district a piece of property is located further concentrates the authority and raises the question of whether campaign contributions amount to an investment in good government or in personal profit. It would be shocking if developers and their attorneys didn't play the political money game.

Is it a good thing for the county to have so much influence -- or at least the appearance of it -- concentrated in a few well-maincured hands? Probably not, but there's nothing illegal about it, and there's not much likelihood that crying foul will change the situation."

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Note from Wayne Senville, Editor, Planning Commissioners Journal:

We've posted a simple "yes/no" poll question on our web site for January asking whether you think it is ethical for attorneys for developers to contribute to candidates for a local governing body. Vote in this poll. Note, you can add additional comments or explanation fafter you vote.

Planning Commissioners Journal columnist Greg Dale has previously touched on issues related to this in his "Ethics & the Planning Commission" column. For excerpts from Dale's articles & to order and download them:

• Who Do You Work For? (when the Mayor sees you as his voice on the planning commission, what should you do?)
• No Strings Attached? (Has anyone ever offered you a gift or favor because you're a planning commissioner?)

Energy Reduction Key Goal of Rural New York County Transportation Plan

 Received this from the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations last week: "The Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council, the MPO in the Ithaca, NY region, recently completed a long range plan update that includes 'higher-density nodal housing and commercial developments using self-sufficiency and public transportation' to reduce emissions. But to make a dent in energy consumption and emissions, the county will have to aggressively reduce drive-alone trips and increase its mix of alternative vehicles, according to director Fernando de Aragon."

I spent some time yesterday reading through the the draft Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council (ITCTC) 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan (Dec. 8, 2009). 

 "Planning departments around the country are becoming increasingly aware of the need for fundamental changes in the way we travel," says the Plan. 

The Transportation Plan for this County of just over 100,000 is remarkable for its unremitting focus on the need for transportation policies to achieve environment goals -- in particular the reduction in fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. 

The Plan is grounded, in part, on a Climate Change & Energy Position Statement (pdf), that says right upfront: "Energy-rich and easily adaptable fossil fuels form the foundation of our fast paced contemporary society. For decades, the supply seemed endless. More recently, the threats of climate change, energy descent, political instability in oil rich regions, and environmental degradation suggest we are reaching the limit to our fossil fuel intensive lifestyle and economy. ... We cannot take the chance that these limits to energy supplies are imaginary, lest we find ourselves unprepared for the future."

The Plan itself sets out the following "overarching goals" --

• To improve the safety of the transportation system.
• To enhance coordination between transportation providers to the benefit and convenience of users.
• To minimize negative environmental impacts of transportation
• To reduce vehicle miles of travel and vehicular emissions
• To reduce fossil fuel energy dependency

Note how heavily oriented they are to environmental and energy reduction goals.

The Plan states that "its end goal [is] sustainable accessibility." This is to be achieved by "focusing on utilizing transportation resources in a manner that optimizes the choice of modes, minimizes environmental impact and enhances the quality of life of all users." 

The Plan goes on to note that: "Transit in all its forms will need to play a much-expanded role in transportation. Transit needs to evolve into a ‘first option’ for all different trips – recreational, work commute, social, services, shopping, etc. Non-motorized modes, bicycling and walking ... need to be accommodated and enhanced to encourage additional use. ... Reducing vehicle miles traveled in general, and particularly by drive-alone or single occupancy vehicles (SOV), will be a key component of any successful strategy."

At the same time, the Plan recognizes that: "Shifting the prominent transportation role currently played by private automobiles will be a significant challenge. The goal is to make the car one of many options for most people to get around, instead of the only option."

So how is this to be accomplished: "Reaching established goals for energy and emissions reductions in transportation will not be likely without a reduction in countywide vehicle miles traveled." And that requires acting on the crucial link between land use development patterns and transportation: "In order to achieve a modal shift away from car dependency land use development patterns must take a more efficient form, as described in the Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan. This will facilitate the use of transit, walking, bicycling, car pools, vanpools, car sharing and ride sharing. All of these currently available alternatives work best when land uses are integrated and in close proximity."

The Ithaca-Tompkins Plan is strikikng in its emphais on energy reduction goals, especially for a primarily rural county. Yes, the fact that Ithaca is a university town makes a difference, but the Plan's goals are still highly ambitious.

Note: the American Planning Association's Policy Guide on Planning & Climate Change (pdf), adopted in April 2008, includes several policies designed to "reduce greenhouse gas emissions including reducing vehicle miles traveled and other means." They include closer integration of transportation and land use planning; providing higher priority to transportation investments that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support for programs and policies that "substantially increase investment in transit." 

Dawn and Dusk

In October while in Toronto I had the good fortune to see some remarkable short films by Mark Lewis at the Art Gallery of Ontario. I think planners will appreciate them -- especially the film showing walkers & bicyclists in Vienna  -- as they offer fresh perspectives on scenes that seem (at least at first blush) quite unremarkable.

As David Moos, Curator of the Gallery, notes in a brochure accompanying the exhibit: "In the work of Mark Lewis there is a fundamental tension between the still and the moving image. ... The films unfold in a methodical and seemingly reduced speed, allowing for moments of beholding."

As we cannot embed the video clip on our web blog (as we usually do) click on the brochure cover below or the following link to go to the 2008 film "Prater Hauptalle, Dawn and Dusk," as posted on Mark Lewis' web site. If possible, view the film in full screen mode on your monitor. The exhibit runs in Toronto through January 17th.

Democracy Means Government by Discussion

 After attending a seemingly endless public meeting, this quote that I had once come across seemed apropos:

"Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people talking." -- Clement Attllee, Britsh Prime Minister, June 14, 1957

City-Go-Round Transit App

 We wanted to share with you part of a quite interesting Press Release we just read. It's about a new website that provides access to a number of transit-related applications for the Blackberry, I-Phone, and other mobile devices. These apps offer a great way to reduce one of the prime obstacles to transit use -- the reluctance of many to go to a bus or  transit stop when they're uncertain about the schedule or how long they'll have to wait.

Take a look at the City-Go-Round web site, and if it looks promising to you, ask your own public transportation agency what it would take for them to participate.

"Front Seat, the civic software company that operates Walk Score (www.walkscore.com), today announced the launch of City-Go-Round (www.citygoround.org), a website where visitors can find public transit applications (apps) available in their city. Visitors also see a list of which transit agencies make their data publicly available to software developers and which agencies do not.

“We are calling on transit agencies nationwide to open their data and follow the lead of the Open Government Directive issued this week by the White House,” said Mike Mathieu, Founder and Chairman of Front Seat. “City-Go-Round’s transit apps are a concrete example of how open data can improve citizens’ lives on a daily basis.”

There are 748 transit agencies in the U.S., 84 of which provide their schedule data to software developers. The largest three transit agencies with no open data are: MTA New York City Transit, New Jersey Transit Corporation, and Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company in New York. Visitors to City-Go-Round can add their name to a request for open public transit data in their city.

"With transportation budgets stretched thin across the country, we see opening transportation data as a tremendous opportunity for cost savings," said Chris Dempsey, assistant transportation secretary for MassDOT. "Enabling software developers to build apps with our data is a huge win for our riders—all at essentially no cost to the agency."

There are over 60 public transit apps listed on City-Go-Round with more being added on an ongoing basis. The apps include real-time arrival information (e.g. when will my bus arrive?), augmented-reality maps of public transit systems, portable schedules and maps, and apps to help you shave time off of your public transit trip."

Here's a screenshot of their website:

 

Persistence Pays Off

Tip 22 of 25
from Elaine Cogan

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In a previous Tip, we spoke of the virtues of being patient. Too much patience, however, can lead to passivity and eventually paralysis. You can be so intimidated by the consequences of the actions you are expected to take that you refuse to make anything but the most routine or mundane decisions.

In this Tip, let us consider the value of being persistent. Experience shows that problems not confronted only multiply and grow. You need not win them all to gain community acceptance and credibility by a willingness to be persistent in seeking answers, even if you take an unpopular stand on a controversial issue.

Persistence also will cause you not to rely entirely on staff reports and recommendations. Just as you should never feel too constrained by your lack of professional education to ask questions or even vote against a staff recommendation, neither should you appear to be looking over your shoulder, trying to anticipate and then vote accordingly to the opinions of the majority of elected officials, or an influential segment of your community. As a planning commissioner, you are expected to be fair, but also be willing to express an informed opinion.

 
But keep in mind that persistence is a trait that should be used sparingly. A commissioner who is persistent to the point of being closed to other points of view and entrenched in his own can quickly become ineffective. “Don’t pay attention to Joe. He never has an open mind on anything.” Thus, the board may politely hear Joe but not listen, because they believe Joe is not really listening to them.

If you tend to be persistent, examine your own motives. Do you know more about  certain topics than your other commissioners because you are a realtor, developer, attorney, planner, or other professional privy naturally privy to types of information the others do not have? Or, are you so reluctant to express your lack of knowledge that stubbornly sticking to a position becomes a shield or defense against people finding out your inadequacies?

In the first case, a willingness to share your knowledge with the board members may convince them of your point of view. In the latter, asking for information from the staff or others will win more points than staking out an unsubstantiated position.

All said, however, there may be times when you have weighed all the information, listened patiently to the public and the other commissioners, and still come to a principled conclusion that is not popular nor supported by the majority of the board. If your colleagues respect you, they will respect your persistence. You may even win them over next time.

This is one of the last few weekly installments of PCJ columnist Elaine Cogan's 25 tips for planning commissioners from her excellent Now That You're on Board publication.

The complete attractively-designed, spiral-bound, Now That You're on Board publication is available for purchase and delivery by mail.

Bringing Bikes to the Office

 We seem to be on a roll in reporting on transportation related news items.You might be interested in hearing about a New York City ordinance that just took effect that potentially makes it much easier for tenants of office buildings to bring the bikes up to their office -- apparently it's the first ordinance of its kind in the nation. 

The goal, of course, is to enable more people to bike to work. While the ordinance (like most things in a big city) is complex, the gist of it is to allow tenants to request that their landlord allow them to bring their bikes indoors. 

There is one principal requirement: the availability of a freight elevator (that shouldn't be much a problem for many buildings).

There is one major exemption: if secure indoor bike parking or sheltered off-street parking is available within three blocks or 750 feet (whichever is less). 

More details about the New York City law are available:

$2.5 Billion for High-Speed Rail

 We reported in May on the importance of high-speed rail, and how far behind the U.S. currently is. This is just the start of what will be a very long period of catching up. Streetsblog Capitol Hill reported on Wednesday on some of the latest funding developments.

House and Senate Agree on $2.5B for High-Speed Rail -- And More (use link for full article)

After lengthy negotiations, the House and Senate agreed last night on a massive "omnibus" spending bill that includes $2.5 billion for high-speed rail -- a compromise between the two chambers -- as well as $150 million for the Obama administration's sustainable communities effort and $150 million for the Washington D.C. Metro system. ... Transportation reform groups and local planners had lobbied hard for the higher number but appeared to consider $2.5 billion an acceptable midpoint.

Mass Market Electric Vehicles Get Closer to Market

 The World Wildlife Fund is providing extensive coverage from the U.N. Copenhagen Climate Change Conference. One quite interesting video they've posted is one of their reporters taking a spin in the Renault Fluence 4-door, 5 passenger electric car, now in final development. It's billed as the first mass market fully electric car -- and will be available in 2011 in Denmark and Israel. The hybrid/electric Chevy Volt should be on the market in 2010..

For a related blog posting on Renault's electric vehicles.

We also posted two reports in 2008 about some of the interesting impacts electric vehicles may have. See Plug In Your Car & Save Dollars (and the Environment), and the follow-up posting, Will the Electric Grid Fuel our Vehicles? Interestingly, Warren Buffett recently predicted that 20 years from now, all car being sold will be electric. 

"Big Hairy Audacious Goals"

Thanks to Della Rucker for the blog post and hearing about the BHAG. For more on the origins of the phrase.

Agenda 360 and the Importance of Setting Brave Goals (use link to view full blog posting)

"Obviously everyone is scared about jobs right now, and I am already hearing grumblings that this isn’t possible. But that misses the point of what an initiative like this is really about.  It goes beyond a number, and more importantly here, it goes to the core of one of the necessities of a Wise Economy: bravery. The current vogue term is BHAG -- Big Hairy Audacious Goals -- and that’s a term that’s been tossed about a lot within Agenda 360 [a Cincinnati-area initiative to catalyze regional growth]. The value of a BHAG is motivational -- since no one agency can do it alone, the 200,000 net new jobs [over the next ten years] BHAG is directed at engaging the broad cross section of people, agencies, businesses etc. who do have some influence over the economy of the region."   

Making the Case for Passion

Tip 21 of 25
from Elaine Cogan

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Much planning is dispassionate. Citizens fill out the proper forms, pay the fees, meet the regulations, and receive approval from the planning staff or board. In our zeal to be objective and fair, it is easy to dismiss passion as an undesirable trait for planners and a suspect emotion for citizens.

 

To the contrary, passion is a powerful and admirable quality if it is not expressed in a hysterical or zealous, take-no-prisoners mode. It can be a positive model when you as a commissioner show a calm but passionate advocacy for the value of planning as a vital contribution to your community's present and future livability -- and when you recognize that citizens can also be rightfully passionate about their neighborhoods, the natural environment, schools, playing fields, or other matters of concern.

Empathizing with the passions of others may help inspire you and your fellow commissioners to deal constructively with controversy and find reasonable compromises.

 

Sometimes passion can cause you to be a loner. You may have patiently listened to all the arguments on a contentious issue, weighed the information, debated openly and fairly with your colleagues, and still reached a conclusion that is not supported by the majority on the planning board. This may not be a comfortable position and would be ineffective if you are too often on the losing side. However, if you can express that passionate disagreement with conviction while not disparaging those who have other points of view, you will engender respect, and may even win over some.

 

An effective planning board member realizes that passion can be one of the many effective tools that advance the cause in your community. 

This is one of the last few weekly installments of PCJ columnist Elaine Cogan's 25 tips for planning commissioners from her excellent Now That You're on Board publication.

The complete attractively-designed, spiral-bound, Now That You're on Board publication is available for purchase and delivery by mail.

Back to the Land

 While this may not qualify as "news" (as is being posted a week into December) you won't want to miss New York Times blogger Maira Kalman's November posting: Back to the Land. It's a wonderfully informative cross-country story about local food. Kalman is an illustrator, author, and designer -- and she combines all three skills in her Times postings.

Here's a screenshot from the start of her blog, which combines text and photos. Definitely worth a look.

 

Two-Way Streets

 A very good article by Alan Ehrenhalt in the December issue of Governing magazine examines the arguments for and against having one-way streets.

The Return of the Two-Way Street (use link to view full article)

The debate over one-way versus two-way streets has been going on for more than half a century now in American cities, and it is far from resolved even yet. But the evidence seems to suggest that the two-way side is winning. ... Over the past 10 years, dozens of cities have reconfigured one-way streets into two-way streets as a means of bringing their downtowns to life. The political leadership and the local business community usually join forces in favor of doing this. ...

Among the critics are traffic engineers and academics who were taught some fixed principles of transportation in school decades ago and have never bothered to reconsider them. Joseph Dumas, a professor at the University of Tennessee, argued a few years ago that “the primary purpose of roads is to move traffic efficiently and safely, not to encourage or discourage business or rebuild parts of town ... Streets are tools for traffic engineering.”

If you agree that streets serve no other purpose than to move automobiles, you are unlikely to see much problem with making them one-way. On the other hand, if you think that streets possess the capacity to enhance the quality of urban life, you will probably consider the Dumas Doctrine to be nonsense.

Backyard Burials

Can you be buried in your backyard? What does your local zoning ordinance say? My guess is that most planning commissioners have never given it a thought. But as noted land use lawyer Dwight Merriam observes in a recent posting on the International Municipal Lawyers Association blog, " 'Natural burial' is emerging – sustainability, if you will, when life is no longer sustainable." It's a short blog posting worth reading -- and be sure you read the great quote from town attorney John S. Bennet at the end (who says attorneys don't have a sense of humor).

Also, fyi, I co-authored an article a few years ago in the Planning Commissioners Journal, "Planning for Cemeteries" (read excerpts; article can be ordered & downloaded). 

Backyard Burials (use link to read full blog posting) 

I am prompted to report on this issue by a news item last week. A Baptist minister in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, buried his 18-year-old son, who died three days after a car crash on July 12, in the backyard of the pastor’s church.  While state law doesn’t prohibit this, some county and local ordinances do, and this county, Fayette County, only allows burials on large parcels zoned for agricultural use.  The church has only five acres and is in a residential zone. ...

The question really is what is an appropriate standard for small, informal burial grounds?  When was the last time you looked at your burial regulations and had a discussion about them?  Do they prohibit scattering of cremated remains and memorial gardens for such remains?  If so, why? 

Unappealing by Day ... and Can Creep You Out at Night

"We're designing neighborhoods that are unappealing by day ... and can creep you out at night." That's one of the comments you'll hear from Tim Tielman, executive director of the Campaign for Greater Buffalo. The focus of this episode of his "Adventures in Buffaloland" series of broadcasts is on the downtown Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and how its design flaws & isolation from its immediate surroundings undermine what appears to be a good-looking piece of architecture. 

Tielman asks whether its design failures negative the economic benefits this massive investment might bring to the downtown area? As he notes, "the tragic irony: It’s the MEDICAL industry that is creating a built environment so harmful to public health and safety."

fyi, we've often covered urban design issues in the Planning Commissioners Journal. Take a look, in particular, at our publication: Taking a Closer Look: Design & Aesthetics. For a limited time, you can also download at no charge one of the articles from this publication: Ilene Watson's "An Introduction to Urban Design" (a 7 page pdf file). It connects to kinds of issues Tielman speaks about in this video.

Denmark to Offer Electric Car Buyers $40,000 Tax Credit & Free Downtown Parking

 A fascinating news story in the New York Times this week about Denmark's ambitious plan to offer a minimum $40,000 tax credit and free downtown parking in Copenhagen to buyers of electric cars. And that's not all. Another key element is using wind energy to fuel the new fleet of vehicles. For two other news reports earlier in the year on this, see: Better Place Denmark to plug electric cars by 2011 and Project Better Place Plans Massive Electric Car Rollout in 2011. 

Related to electric vehicles & the impacts they might have on the power grid, take a look back at two posts on the PlannersWeb last year on what might happen if Vermont had a surge in electric vehicles. See Plug In Your Car & Save Dollars (and the Environment), and the follow-up posting, Will the Electric Grid Fuel our Vehicles?

In Denmark, Ambitious Plan for Electric Cars (use link for full New York Times article)

Is saving $40,000 at the showroom enough to get drivers behind the wheel of an electric car? With a program in the works to add easy access to charging stations, Denmark is about to find out.

The government offers a minimum $40,000 tax break on each new electric car -- and free parking in downtown Copenhagen. But even in Denmark, one of the most environmentally conscious nations in the world, skepticism abounds. It is not clear that car buyers can be persuaded to make the switch.

... Denmark is trying to do more than simply move away from the internal combustion engine. By revamping the power grid ... the biggest utility in Denmark, wants to power the anticipated fleet of electric cars with wind energy, which already supplies nearly 20 percent of the country’s power.