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Getting - and staying - organized is essential for the proper conduct of the public's business. These articles from the Planning Commissioners Journal will help your commission better prepare for and run public meetings. Also included are model planning commission by-laws and rules of procedure drafted by the late David Allor. This collection of articles will serve as a great resource for planners, planning commissioners, and local governing body members. This reprint collection is attractively bound, and delivered by first-class mail. |
Articles |
Summary |
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| The Planning Commission At Work | ||
| Getting the Job Done by Michael Chandler |
Highlighting strategies planning boards can employ to help commissioners get the job done. | |
| The Planning Commission As Independent Advisor by Michael Chandler |
Ways your commission can advance the cause of good planning, and strengthen its relationship with the governing body. | |
| Commission and Staff; Expectations of Each Other by Michael Chandler |
Focusing on the important, but often overlooked, relationship between commission and staff. | |
| Being a Planning Commissioner by Steven Burt
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Asking the right question; evaluating information presented; identifying interests; making no excuses. Lessons from nine years as a member of a local planning and zoning commission. | |
| Chairing the Planning Commission by Carol Whitlock
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A long-time planning commission chair offers her insights on ways to run fair and effective commission meetings and hearings. Plus a staff planner's perspective from Lee Krohn. | |
| Are You Organized for Business? | ||
| Keeping Things in Order: Planning Commission By-Laws by David J. Allor |
Consider by-laws creation in much the same way as a vaccination: trading short-term discomfort for the increased assurance of long-term security. | |
| The Commission Will Come to Order: Commentary on Adapting the Rules of Parliamentary Procedure and Model Outline of Motions for Planning Commissions and Zoning Boards
by David J. Allor |
Summarizing the essential features of parliamentary procedure, and reviewing some of the problems planning boards face using "Robert's Rules." Includes an understandable set of procedural rules to guide the deliberative process, and, of equal importance, promote public understanding of commission deliberations. | |
| First on the Agenda is the Agenda!
by Elaine Cogan |
How much thought goes into your planning board's agenda? | |
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Making the Most of Your Meeting Time by Michael Chandler |
The road to more effective meetings should begin with an examination of how you currently manage your time. | |
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Are You Organized for Business? by Michael Chandler |
A questionnaire that can help planning commissions quickly identify some of the basics of good commission practice that may have fallen by the wayside. | |
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The "Riggins Rules" by Fred Riggins |
A must-read. Suggested Do's & Don'ts for the Conduct of Public Hearings and the Deportment of Members of Boards, Commissions & Other Bodies, by the late Fred Riggins. | |
| Decision Making & Public Meetings | ||
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Decision Making by Michael Chandler |
There will be times each of us internally debates the wisdom of our assessment of an issue. | |
| And the Consensus Is ... by Elaine Cogan |
Suggestions on how to build consensus on your planning board. | |
| What's Your PMQ (Public Meeting Quotient)? by Elaine Cogan |
Designing and carrying out effective public meetings is an inexact, but important component of the planning process, and should be taken seriously. | |
| Is It Glitz? Is It Real? by Elaine Cogan |
Why it's important for planning commissioners to look behind the pretty pictures, and beyond the enticing words, of polished presentations. | |
| A Nose for NIMBYs by Chris Robbins |
Most planning commissioners have sat through stormy meetings, with angry residents confronting project applicants. Legitimate concerns are often mixed with irrational fears. Insights into how to deal with NIMBY situations. | |
| Late Nights witht he Commission by Ric Stephens |
Why the length and pace of planning board hearings can affect the quality of public participation and decision-making. | |
| Dealing With Contentious Public Hearings by Wayne Senville |
One of the toughest challenges facing planning commissioners is how to deal with public hearings involving controversial development projects and zoning amendments. Planners and planning commissioners from across the country offer practical suggestions based on what's worked in their communities. | |
| Another Meeting? by Elaine Cogan |
Even the most diligent members must be absent sometimes, but this should be the exception not the rule. | |
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A great supplement to Come to Order! -- Now that You're on Board: How to Survive and Thrive as a Planning Commissioner | |
