Planning Commissioners Journal

Inviting Them In -- Draft Article for Your Review

Note from Planning Comm'rs Journal Editor Wayne Senville:

This article is no longer available for review. We usually post draft articles on our web site for about two weeks to allow for comment. This article will be published in our Summer 2011 issue, due out at the end of July. Want to be sure you don't miss any draft articles while they're available for review? Simply sign up to receive them by email.

 

The Value of Debriefing

How debriefing meetings can help planning commissions work more effectively. by Jim Segedy, FAICP, and Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, AICP; from PCJ #82 (Spring 2011); 2 pages Read excerpts below; to order & download the full article use Shopping Cart button at bottom of this post.

Read excerpt from start of article: Many years ago, Lisa was on the planning staff of a regional planning agency. The morning after the initial public meeting for a joint county-municipal comprehensive plan, the planning director called an impromptu staff meeting. "What worked well?" was her first question. She made notes of our responses on a flip chart using a fat blue marker. After five minutes, she moved to, "What didn't work well?" In another five minutes, she asked, "What would you like us to do differently for the next public meeting?" In 15 minutes, we had a list that summarized our experiences and gave us direction. This simple debriefing process was a valuable technique that empowered Lisa and her fellow staff members to recognize success, recount their frustrations, and agree on new approaches for future work. Jim's experience with debriefing was somewhat different. When he was on the local planning commission, near the end of each meeting, everyone would look at their watch. One person would move to adjourn, there would be a second, and before the gavel hit the desk we were all outta there. Woe be to anyone who got between the members and the door. At the next meeting it was the same, and nothing ever got any better. The process of planning commission decision-making requires as much attention as does the decisions themselves. Following up on the meetings and the issues raised is critical -- and in the long-run makes for more efficient and effective meetings. Who knows, with enough debriefing and adjusting, those meetings may even finish early! Debriefing is a technique of "reflective learning" that can be applied one-on-one or in a group setting. It is frequently used in military, medical, and emergency response situations, where participants use role-playing and simulations of potential events to prepare for circumstances in which decisions affecting life and death must be made quickly. Debriefing enables participants to emotionally process the event and analyze the decisions they made (and their outcomes). This facilitates learning, improving how people respond to future situations. Debriefing is not critique. An important distinction between the two is the flow of information. In a debriefing, all parties are allowed equal time to give and receive information. This differs from a critique, which is generally a one-way flow of information (as when an instructor provides an evaluation of a student's project). Another important distinction of debriefing is that it is not just a "gripe session." Debriefing relies on a specific structure of: (1) recounting events -- the what's and the why's, (2) dealing with emotions and feelings, (3) analyzing decisions and outcomes, and (4)thoughtfully reflecting and focusing on future situations or practices. ... the full article is available to order & download immediately below. Jim Segedy is the Director of Community Planning for the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and a co-author of The Small Town Planning Handbook. He is also a member of the Edgewood Borough Planning Commission and the Swissvale Business Development Advisory Committee. Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy is Associate Director for River Restoration for American Rivers' Western Pennsylvania Field Office, and a former Planning Director for a Regional Planning Commission near Atlanta. For a list of the Segedys' previous articles published in the Planning Commissioners Journal.

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The End of the Strip?

Why the era of strip commercial development may be nearing an end. by Edward McMahon; from PCJ #82 (Spring 2011); 4 pages Read excerpts below; to order & download the full article use Shopping Cart button at bottom of this post. For more on dealing with commercial strips, see Ross Moldoff's Controlling Strip Development.

Read excerpt from start of article: Two Best Buy stores. The old paradigm: single use, only accessible by car. The new paradigm: mixed uses also accessible by transit or on foot. For more than 50 years retailers have favored the commercial strip: a linear pattern of retail businesses strung along major roadways, characterized by massive parking lots, a plethora of big signs, box-like buildings, and a total dependence on automobiles for access and circulation. For years urban planners and public officials have tried to contain, control, and improve the strip. Now they are getting some help from an unexpected quarter: consumers and the marketplace. Today the era of strip development is coming to an end. Evolving consumer behavior, changing demographics, high priced gasoline, internet shopping, the economy, and other factors are all combining to create a new paradigm for commercial development. Commercial strips are not going to disappear overnight, but it is becoming increasingly clear that strip retail is retail for the last century. The future belongs to town centers, main streets, and mixed-use development. Among the reasons for this transformation: 1. We're Overbuilt on the Strip From 1960 to 2000 there was an almost ten-fold increase in U.S. retail space, from 4 to 38 square feet per person. For many years retail space was growing 5 to 6 times faster than retail sales. Most of this space came in the form of discount superstores on the suburban strip. The recession made clear that we have too much retail. Strip centers are now littered with vacant stores. By some estimates, there is currently over one billion square feet of vacant retail space. Much of this space is going to have to re-purposed or demolished. In fact, one retail analyst estimates that we need to demolish 300 million square feet of retail space. On the other hand, the only places left with more spending power than stores to spend it in are our cities. 2. Retail is Rediscovering the City In 2010, Target announced plans to remodel the century-old Carson Pirie Scott department store in Chicago. This landmark building designed by architect Louis Sullivan will be just one of a number of new, so-called big box retailers planned for urban neighborhoods. Similarly, in late 2010, Wal-Mart announced plans to open its first ever stores in Washington, D.C. To make the four new stores fit an urban environment, the company has agreed to consider an array of layouts, designs, and parking arrangements, a reflection of the chain's willingness to adapt its prototype to enter lucrative urban markets. The D.C. store planned for New Jersey Avenue illustrates Wal-Mart's new approach to store design. The company plans a store of 75,000 to 80,000 square feet (much smaller than usual) on the ground floor of a five story mixed-use building featuring 315 apartments, underground parking, and space for smaller retail stores. Home Depot already has a new urban store in Toronto with 90 units of housing on top. At the same time that Wal-Mart, Target, and other big box stores are planning dozens of new urban stores in cities all over America, as many as 400 former Wal-Mart stores and other big boxes sit vacant on commercial strips across the country. Most analysts agree that cities and urban neighborhoods are the new land of opportunity for retail. ... McMahon's article then continues with sections on: 3. The Suburbs are Being Redesigned 4. Traffic Congestion, Fuel Prices, and Poor Design are Hurting the Strip 5. The Economy is Restructuring the Retail Landscape 6. Consumers Favor Walkability and Places With Character 7. E-Commerce and New Technologies Mean Fewer and Smaller Stores plus: Where Do We Go From Here? -- what can planning commissions do to help reshape the strip; some recommendations culled from leading experts. ... the full article is available to order & download immediately below.

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Draft article on Teardowns -- for your review

Note from Planning Comm'rs Journal Editor Wayne Senville:

This article is no longer available for review. We usually post draft articles on our web site for about two weeks to allow for comment. This article will be published in our Summer 2011 issue, due out at the end of July. Want to be sure you don't miss any draft articles while they're available for review? Simply sign up to receive them by email.

 

Wendy Grey Talks About Her PCJ Article on the Relationship Between Plans & Implementing Regulations

Note from PCJ Editor Wayne Senville. Our just published Spring issue features an article by PCJ contributing writer (and long-time Florida planner) Wendy Grey about a topic that virtually every planning commissioner will face -- the relationship of the local comprehensive plan and implementing regulations, such as zoning ordinances.

I asked Wendy some questions to further explore what she covers in her article.

Wayne Senville: In your article in our Spring issue ("The Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations: Putting Words Into Action"') you focus on ways of making the comprehensive plan and local land development regulations work better together. But in some communities, plans seem of distinctly secondary importance to land use regulations, since it's the regulations that have direct consequences for developers, businesses, and residents. This can be frustrating to members of local planning commissions, especially if they've invested a lot of time on working on the comp plan.

Are there suggestions you have for how comp plans can become more valuable in actually shaping land use policy and not just sit there on the proverbial shelf?

Wendy Grey: Since the land development regulations are intended to implement the plan, it is probably not practical, or helpful, to have every land use decision tied directly back to the comprehensive plan. But there are instances when relying on the plan can benefit the decision making process and remind folks why the plan is there.

Take rezonings as an example. Often, rezoning decisions revolve around whether the adjoining property owners object to the request. From a long range planning perspective, rezonings tie back directly to the future land use map, which depicts the desired relationships of land uses to each other. In reviewing rezoning requests, a significant part of the planning commission’s analysis should be based on whether the rezoning is consistent with the comprehensive plan, not just whether or not there are objections from neighbors.

Another way to keep the plan relevant is to spend some time reviewing it. Consider having an agenda item every few months that reviews some key objectives of the plan and how they are (or are not) being achieved. Based on these discussions, the planning commission may wish to recommend changes either to the plan or the regulations.

Wayne Senville: In many places, comprehensive plans seem replete with words like “may,” or “to the extent possible,” or “should consider,” instead of outlining what “shall” be done. In your article you discuss the difference between prescriptive plans (where language in the plan can almost be copied and pasted into land use regulations) and plans that build in more flexibility. How do planners and planning commissioners determine which approach would work best in their community’s comp plan?

Wendy Grey: The plan may have both types of policies, depending on the result you want to achieve. In the article, I use the example of comprehensive plan policies intended to promote downtown redevelopment. The plan could contain policies that specify exactly how tall buildings should be, the size of ground floor windows, and sidewalks widths. But that regulatory approach won’t necessarily encourage redevelopment and may actually impede reinvestment. In this example, the intent of the policy, as a guide to developing regulations, is more relevant than the specific standard. So, the plan directs the City to develop codes that address design features to create a safe and welcoming environment, but does not specify the precise standards.

On the other hand, prescriptive language is appropriate when the community value is very explicit. I recently reviewed major changes to the comprehensive plan in a coastal county in Florida. Many of the proposed changes moved the more regulatory language to the land development code. When it came to building heights along the coast, however, it was quickly decided that the four story height limit in the plan would not be removed. The control of building heights along the coast was such a strong community value that it was retained in as a requirement in the comprehensive plan, and, subsequently, the land development code.

Wayne Senville: It has often seemed to me that local zoning regulations face issues not addressed in the comprehensive plan, or not addressed very clearly, especially once the plan is five or ten years old. Zoning regulations then seem to be based more on ad hoc considerations or policy preferences of the governing body. What you almost end up with is the regulations leading the plan. Are there any ways of dealing with this?

The Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations: Putting Words Into Action

Strategies for improving how your planning and regulatory documents work together. by Wendy Grey, AICP; from PCJ #82 (Spring 2011); 4 pages Read excerpts below; to order & download the full article use Shopping Cart button at bottom of this post. See also our interview with Wendy Grey about this article

Read excerpt from start of article: In this article, we'll explore the relationship between the comprehensive plan and its implementing regulations and some strategies for improving how these documents work together. We'll also discuss the local planning process as a "feedback loop" -- that is, the need for the plan and regulations to be refined and improved on a regular basis as a result of practical experience and ongoing evaluation. The Comprehensive Plan 1. Sections of the Plan As its name implies, the comprehensive plan is the broadest document guiding development. The plan typically contains sections (sometimes called "elements") that address the major subjects influencing the community's development. The sections will generally include land use, transportation, environmental resource protection, infrastructure, housing, and economic development. Other sections may include sustainability, historic preservation, community character, and public safety (e.g., disaster preparedness). Taken together, the sections of the plan should provide a picture of what the community will look like at the end of the selected planning horizon. Some plans contain a vision statement or pictures that provide a succinct summary of what the comprehensive plan is intending to achieve. The benefit of such an overview is that it shows how the key objectives within each section fit together to achieve the community vision. 2. "Mini" Comprehensive Plans While the comprehensive plan addresses the community as a whole, some planning departments also prepare plans that apply only to a specific geographic area. These "mini" comprehensive plans (often called "special area" plans) are usually prepared in response to a condition or need within an area that is not adequately addressed by the comprehensive plan. Consider a city that has recently annexed a large amount of vacant land under single ownership. The city wants to encourage the use of innovative planning techniques such as transit-oriented development, but there are policies throughout the comprehensive plan that impede this. The city does not want to make wholesale changes to the plan since current policies work well for the rest of the city, which is largely built out. In this situation, a more focused mini plan that applies only to the newly annexed area would likely be a good solution. Similar to special area plans are neighborhood and district plans. A neighborhood plan addresses the needs of a particular neighborhood and typically is adopted either to protect its existing character or promote sensitive revitalization. A district plan usually addresses a commercial area or several neighborhoods and has the same purpose as a neighborhood plan. Since the conditions that the plan addresses are unique to the area in question, it is appropriate to have a set of policies that apply only to it. 3. Providing a Vision for the Community's Future The comprehensive plan is the overarching policy document for the community. It should establish a long-term vision, set priorities, and provide direction for how the vision will be achieved. While the plan should be specific enough to accomplish these objectives, it should not be so detailed that it needs frequent amending. If the plan is constantly being revised, it can devalue the perception of the plan as the guide to the long-term development of the community. Let's take some examples. ... article then continues, and in Part II covers: Translating the Comprehensive Plan Into Implementing Regulations: 1. The Plan as a Policy Document; 2. Consistency Between the Plan and the Implementing Regulations; 3. Going Beyond the Planning Department; and 4. Keeping the Plan's Overall Objectives in Mind. Part III of the article covers: The Feedback Loop: 1. What Does the Data Show; 2. Evaluating Approved Projects; and 3. Looking at Your Development Review Process.

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What Size Is Your Street?

Note from PCJ Editor Wayne Senville: We're pleased that over the coming year we'll be exchanging monthly blog postings with our partner, Project for Public Spaces.

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Right-Sizing the Street: Not Just for the DOT Anymore
by Staff from Project for Public Spaces

It used to be that only transportation professionals decided how wide a street should be. Not anymore. Communities of all shapes and sizes are beginning to play a larger part in determining the design and network of their street system.

This new, active role helps ensure that transportation projects contribute to broad community outcomes, including local social, economic, and environmental well-being.

One primary way in which communities are playing an active role in the planning process is through grassroots efforts to “right-size” local streets. These right-sizing efforts take the form of low-cost experiments that are intended to demonstrate potential benefits of place-based transportation and informing long-term decision-making.

What is Right-Sizing?

Right-sizing is a technique to re-design streets to make them context sensitive. Through right-sizing, streets can be transformed so they are safer, sustainable, and more functional from a mobility and a community perspective.

For more detail on some examples of right-sizing techniques, read this recent post on Safer, More Livable Streets through Bike Lanes, featuring PPS Transportation Initiatives Director, Gary Toth.

Community-led and Action-Oriented Approaches to Right Sizing

When it comes to right-sizing a street, there are several approaches that range in cost, time commitment, and impact. Of all these approaches, community-led and action-oriented tactics are consistently lighter, quicker, and cheaper than traditional, capital-heavy alternatives.

Around the country, and with a little help from organizations such as PPS, The Street Plans Collaborative, and Go Oak Cliff, community members are realizing that the network of streets permeating their neighborhoods are not sacrosanct territory, but are public space that they can play an active role in planning and shaping.

Our May Special Offer

Editor's Note: Given the strong response to last month's special offer, we're offering 8 more back issues with content we think you'll find very relevant -- at more than 50% off. What's more, if you order all 8 back issues, we'll mail them all to you for just $30.00, a savings of over 75% off their regular price. For recent subscribers, it's a great way to catch up on what we've published. For long-time subscribers, you'll find issues worth making available to new members of your commission.

To view the detailed contents of each back issue click on the issue covers or titles below. But you need to return to this page to order to receive the special discount price. Note: there is a $2.50 shipping charge per back issue, up to a max. of $5.00 for as many back issues as you order -- EXCEPT no additional shipping charge if you order all 8 back issues for $30.00. Your order will be sent first-class or priority mail. Sorry, but no additional Planning Comm'rs Journal subscriber discount on these low prices. You can also order by phone: 802.864.9083. Best between 10am and 4pm Eastern. We can invoice local governments.

Use this Shopping Cart button to order all 8 of the issues listed below for just $30.00 -- priority mail shipping included in this $30.00 price. If you don't want all 8 issues, use the individual shopping cart buttons next to the back issues you want to order.

Zoning Basics -- featuring an excellent primer on zoning basics by Greg Dale & Michael Chandler, including sidebars on: The Emergence of Zoning; Avoiding Spot Zoning; Nonconforming Uses & Structures; Special Permits; and Legislative versus Quasi-Judicial Decisions (7 pages). Also in this issue: Ed McMahon on barriers to better development; benefits of farmers markets; and more. $7.50, instead of standard $15.75 price (you must order here to receive the discount)

Growing Greener -- featuring Randall Arendt's excellent 8 page article on conservation subdivision design. Also in this issue: Otis White on what planning commissioners should consider if interested in running for a position on the governing body; and Ed McMahon considers smart growth trends; plus more. $7.50, instead of standard $15.75 price (you must order here to receive the discount)

Take Notice! -- Featuring a 5 page article by land use lawyers Dwight Merriam & Robert Sitkowski on procedural due process & its relationship to planning commission hearings and decisionmaking. Also in this issue: planner Rick Pruetz provides a great introduction to the use of transfer of development rights (6 pages). Plus short articles by Ed McMahon, Elaine Cogan, and Mike Chandler. $7.50, instead of standard $15.75 price (you must order here to receive the discount)

The 20th Century City -- in one of our favorite articles, planning historian Laurence C. Gerckens, FAICP, provides a fascinating look back at ten key events that shaped today's cities (9 pages). Also in this issue: short articles by Elaine Cogan, Ed McMahon, and Mike Chandler. $7.50, instead of standard $15.75 price (you must order here to receive the discount)

Access Management -- a look at strategies that can help control the flow of traffic between roadways and surrounding land. Plus articles on the different roles planning commissions can take; the benefits of "citizen planning academies;" a checklist for making your planning commission more effective; and advice on how to select a consultant. $7.50, instead of standard $15.75 price (you must order here to receive the discount)

Diagnosing Your Community. How completing a "diagnostic study" before beginning work on a comprehensive plan can save your community time and money. Plus an excellent introduction to roundabouts by transportation engineer Michael Wallwork. Also in this issue: the value of holding a retreat; the ethics of "getting even"; myths that have made it more difficult to deal with sprawl; and more. $7.50, instead of standard $15.75 price (you must order here to receive the discount)

Come to Order! -- featuring the late David Allor's highly useful "Model Outline of Motions for Planning Commissions and Zoning Boards." Also in this issue: how communities can exercise control over fast-food franchise design; working effectively with elected officials; and viewing change as an opportunity rather than a threat. $7.50, instead of standard $15.75 price (you must order here to receive the discount)

Gateways: Creating Civic Identity -- how planning for gateways into cities and towns can help strengthen a sense of place. Plus: why don't planning commissioners get the respect they deserve; dealing with the property rights challenge; how "visioning" can be used by planning commissions; ways of "gaining legitimacy" with the public; and more. $7.50, instead of standard $15.75 price (you must order here to receive the discount)

Our Spring Issue: Putting Words Into Action

Several articles from our Spring issue can now be individually ordered & downloaded; click on the article titles below for details and to order.

Download a pdf for $16.75 or Order a print copy for delivery by mail for $15.75, plus postage

Contents of our Spring 2011 issue:
	Our Cover Story: The Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Regulations by Wendy Grey, AICP Putting words into action. Strategies for improving how your planning and regulatory documents work together.
The Value of Debriefing by Jim Segedy, Ph.D., FAICP, and Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, AICP The five or ten minutes it takes to "debrief" a commission meeting can yield valuable ideas for improving future meetings.
	The End of the Strip by Edward T. McMahon The changing nature of retail may signal we're nearing the end of the era of strip commercial development.
A Question of Scale by Beth Humstone Demographic changes raise questions about what scale of development best fits neighborhoods and commercial districts.
	Charting an Economic Course by Gwendolyn Hallsmith If your local economy were a ship and you were preparing for a voyage, what would you need?
Welcome to the Tightrope Act by Della Rucker, AICP, CEcD It's vital that planning commissioners bring an economic perspective to planning -- and vice-versa -- though that can feel like balancing on a tightrope.
	Lighter, Cheaper, Quicker by Staff from Project for Public Spaces Some of the best public spaces have grown out of quick, cheap, incremental improvements.
Don't Take It Personally by Ric Stephens Four rules to help ensure all citizens know they will receive a fair and impartial hearing before the planning commission.
	Planning Sees "CW" Turned On Its Head by Dave Stauffer In city planning "conventional wisdom" has quite often been proven wrong.