Planning Commissioners Journal

Libraries at the Heart of Our Communities

There's been a dramatic change in the mission of libraries across the country. No longer just static repositories of books and reference materials, libraries are increasingly serving as the hub of their communities, providing a broad range of services and activities. They are also becoming important "economic engines" of downtowns and neighborhood districts.

 

For a limited time, you can download a complimentary pdf of "Libraries at the Heart of Our Communities," the feature article in the Summer issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal.

Just go to: http://drop.io/pcjournal5835 

For information on ordering printed copies of our Summer issue.

Take a look also at two of our previous blog postings on libraries: "Hudson's Star Attraction" and "A Harbor You Can Sail Into." 

Reports from Leg 2 of "Circle The USA"

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

I'm back from the second segment of my planned "Circle the USA" travels, covering Detroit; Troy and Flint, Michigan; and Elkhart County and northwestern Indiana.

 

I've filed the following reports. Take a look, and sign up for our Circle the USA blog feed and/or email updates.

 

-- When Rouge Turned Green

-- Preservation or Demolition?

-- Campus Martius Park in Downtown Detroit

-- A Suburb Plans for Change

-- Not Giving Up on Flint, I

-- Not Giving Up on Flint, II

-- Good or Bad Signs in Indiana?

-- A Main Street Succeeds in Tough Times

-- Planning for 46 Miles of Lakeshore

My next segment will include several days in the Chicago area, followed by stops in Kankakee County, Illinois; Dubuque, Iowa; and southern Wisconsin.

 

Again, check out our Circle the USA web site where announcements and reports will be posted.

Green Essentials: our July Special Offer

Note from Planning Comm'rs Journal Editor Wayne Senville about our July special: There's growing interest in "green infrastructure" -- ways of relying more on natural systems to handle the impacts of development (such as stormwater runoff), while also decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels. The articles in this new collection from the Planning Commissioners Journal will provide you with an introduction to a number of related issues: from energy conservation at the local level to how our Main Streets can support efforts creating more sustainable communities. As a planner or planning commissioner you have a key role in helping shape your community's priorities. You can take the lead in bringing information to the table that will help show others in your community the benefits of better development practices. Let our Green Essentials reprint collection help you out.

Order all of the following articles for delivery by first-class mail, as a bound 62-page reprint collection for an introductory price of just $20.00. Flat shipping & handling fee of $5.00 regardless of quantity of reprint sets ordered. Planning Comm'rs Journal subscribers save even more: activate your additional 25% discount for this item before ordering. You can also order by phoning our office at: 802.864.9083 -- best between 10am and 3pm Eastern time. Say you're calling about the July Green Essentials special offer. If you're a subscriber, you will also receive the additional 25% discount. Local governments can be invoiced on orders.

Contents of Green Essentials:

Do Not Take It Personally

How can you do a better job as a planning commissioner? Elaine Cogan in her latest "The Effective Planning Commissioner" column offers some basic principles for your consideration. Learning to Enjoy Your Service on the Commission by Elaine Cogan From the Spring 2009 issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal. Available to order & immediately download. Use icon button at end of excerpt below. Do you subscribe to the Planning Commissioners Journal? If so, we would be pleased to email you a complimentary .pdf of this article. Just email us at: pcjoffice@gmail.com (include the article title in your email). You may need to wait a bit if you email us when our office is closed. Not a subscriber? Consider starting with our Spring issue. Order online or phone us at: 802.864.9083 (Monday-Friday, 10am to 3pm Eastern).

Read excerpt from beginning of article: One would be hard pressed to find another overworked, under-appreciated position in any community equal to being a planning commissioner. There usually is no financial remuneration, and the meetings often are tedious, technical, and sometimes contentious. Your best friends may disagree with a decision you make. Why, then, even bother? Surely, there are other uses you can find for your time. One reason that seems to give commissioners a boost is that little goes on in the community that is not affected somewhat by planning. You have the opportunity to influence and lead the way to change that will be felt for years to come. Look upon these positive attributes as your challenge to execute the obligations of your office so that the experience is, indeed, one you savor. Some principles to consider: Do not take it personally. It would be gratifying if you and the other commissioners could deal only with the big picture, concepts, and ideas. Often, however, it is the nuts and bolts of how individuals can use their property that concern the commission, and this can become very personal. When landowners get frustrated or angry, they may express themselves in ways that are not pleasant. You will survive and keep your sanity if you realize it is the system they rail against and the planning board and staff are convenient targets. Never forget, however, that even words expressed in anger can contain kernels of truth worth being considered. Respect your staff. They are human. They err. Sometimes their mistakes are embarrassing or should be overturned. You are entitled, or even expected to, question your staff carefully, but do it privately. If you have to overturn their recommendation, vote on the facts as you see them, not hearsay or opinion. Never make them scapegoats in a public setting. This diminishes you in the eyes of the public and also undermines the confidence people will have in your staff in the future. ... The full article can be ordered & downloaded. Click this icon for details.

Reporting from Michigan & Indiana

From Planning Comm'rs Journal Editor Wayne Senville:

I'm now on the second leg of my "Circle the USA" trip. Just spent the day in Flint learning about their innovative Land Bank program.

You can see my first two reports from Dearborn ("When Rouge Turned Green") and Detroit ("Preservation or Demolition?"). I'll be posting reports from Troy and Flint, Michigan, and then from Goshen and Portage, Indiana, as time allows. Given the pace of my travel, some of the reports will need to wait till I return to Burlington, Vermont, next week.

The easiest way to follow my reports is to receive them by email. Just add your email address where indicated in the upper left part of our CircleTheUSA.com page. 

On Entering the Twitterverse

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

The past couple of months I've been getting familiar with Twitter -- entering the Twitterverse, so to speak. It might surprise some of you (as it surprised me) that I've actually found Twitter both useful and fun to use. Twitter users often post links to breaking stories and blog reports. In a sense, you can use Twitter as your own personalized news-wire service. 

But there are also many strangely entertaining Tweets -- in part because of the need to compress a Tweet (i.e., message) into no more than 140 characters. Here's a composite of some Tweets from the past few days; they all include the word "planning," which was included in my Twitter search.

You can follow my most recent Tweets in the bottom right portion of our PlannersWeb page. Give Twitter a try. You can find my at: wsenville

Building Community Leadership: Our June Special Offer

Communities across the country are reeling from the economic challenges they face. Development applications are down, and some local projects are on hold, but planning departments are finding creative ways to use this precious time to engage commissioners, prioritize longer-term planning, and think strategically about the future. One critical element of successful community development is the identification and cultivation of tomorrow's community leaders. Now might be a great time to think about finding and engaging community advocates and your next generation of planning commissioners

Building Community Leadership is a 13 page collection of the following articles from the Planning Commissioners Journal; available only as a .pdf download. The Challenge of Change -- How to deal with change is a question planning commissioners in just about every community face. But innovative ideas can be difficult to introduce without the active involvement of commissioners, elected officials, and members of the public. Developing Community Leadership -- The role that leadership training can play in developing community leaders. Building an Educated Community -- What caused community leadership to flourish in one small city. Finding Community Leaders -- Leadership, an intangible hard-to-describe thing, is a key ingredient to a strong community ... and can come from unexpected places. Community Leadership & the Cincinnati Planning Commission -- A look back at how the citizens of Cincinnati made history nearly 100 years ago. Getting Power by Giving It Away -- How a planning commission can strengthen its leadership role by empowering citizens to find solutions to difficult issues. The Next Generation of Your Planning Commission -- Is your planning commission positioned to deal with not just today's issues, but tomorrow's? That may well depend on whether you've taken steps to involve the next generation of planning commissioners. Lighten Up -- If you take the opportunity to engage your community in stimulating and enjoyable ways, you can find a receptive audience and reap positive results.

Use this button to order & download Building Community Leadership for just $10 -- Planning Comm'rs Journal, use your 25% discount for a reduced price of $7.50.

Find out why we're the best publication available for members of town, city, and county planning boards; elected officials; and other citizens actively involved with local planning issues. Use this button to order a 1 year subscription today ($67) -- and we'll send you by 1st class mail a copy of the current issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal (Spring 2009) to start your subscription. You can also then receive Building Community Leadership, and all our other publications and articles at 25% savings.

Are You Dense?

Perhaps nothing gets a community more riled up than a discussion of density. Some fear that density, if too high, will create congestion, deplete open space, and block light and air. Others fear that density, if too low, will eat up valuable natural resources and fail to meet housing needs. A look at how you can plan for the density that works best for your community. Plus: high-rise buildings are not necessarily the best answer to promoting denser, more walkable communities, argues Urban Land Institute Senior Resident Fellow Ed McMahon. Getting the Density You Want by Elizabeth Humstone, and Density Without High-Rises? by Edward McMahon From the Spring 2009 issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal. Available to order & immediately download. Use icon button at end of article. Do you subscribe to the Planning Commissioners Journal? If so, we would be pleased to email you a complimentary .pdf of this article. Just email us at: pcjoffice@gmail.com (include the article title in your email). You may need to wait a bit if you email us when our office is closed. Not a subscriber? Consider starting with our Spring issue. Order online or phone us at: 802.864.9083 (Monday-Friday, 10am to 3pm Eastern).

Read excerpt from Humstone article: What Does Density Look Like? When residents hear the term high density, they often picture high-rise housing towers that lack privacy and open space, surrounded by surface parking. And when the term low density is used, large lot rural subdivisions may come to mind. Neither may be the case. As has been aptly illustrated in Julie Campoli and Alex MacLean's book, Visualizing Density, even the same densities take many different forms and have different impacts on the viewer. Densities of 10 to 20 units per acre may still enable low-rise buildings with access to open space and privacy. Subdivisions that average 1 unit per 10 acres may minimize sprawl and adverse impacts on natural resources by clustering house lots. Our perceptions of density are usually governed by the design of projects -- how high they are, how they are sited, how close they are to the street, how much landscaping there is, and how doors, windows, porches, and roofs are articulated. Visual preference surveys have shown that people may dismiss one project as too dense while approving of another project that has the same density. One of the challenges for planners and planning commissioners is to determine the qualities that will make desirable densities acceptable in their communities. Planning for Density 1. The Municipal Plan The starting point for deciding on density is the municipal plan. The plan sets forth the overall vision for the community and establishes the land use pattern, the transportation system, plans for public facilities and services, and natural resource policies. How do you determine how much density is enough or how much is too much? Each community will have to make this decision given its own situation and vision for the future. 2. Growth Estimates One of the functions of a municipal plan is to determine how the community will meet current and future needs based on trends in population, housing, jobs and services, and existing conditions. How fast the community is growing, and what the characteristics of the new residents are likely to be, will help determine what densities need to be considered for the future. For example, if a new employer with low-wage jobs announces plans to move to the community, higher density rental housing may be needed. For those areas with a concentration of seasonal homes, low densities to protect lakeshores or steep slopes may be appropriate. Many communities are now realizing that only a small share of their population (under 25 percent nationally ) consists of two parents with children. Their plans must also provide for single parents, the elderly, empty nesters, and young adults. These households have a variety of housing needs; many desire smaller units that are easily accessible to transportation, retail, and jobs and services. ... article continues with look at: 3. Inventory of Current Conditions; 4. Connecting with Community Goals; 5. Links to Transportation; 6. Links to Community Services; and 7. Environmental and Natural Resource Protection Second part of article considers Factors in Making Density Work for You: 1. Height; 2. Setbacks; 3. Lot Coverage; 4. Planned Unit & Planned Residential Developments; 5. Bonuses; 6. Parking; 7. Landscaping; 8. Driveways and Garages; 9. Accessory Apartments & Duplexes; and 10. Tear Downs The full article can be ordered & downloaded. Click this icon for details.

Dialing for Citizens

You've worked hard to organize a community visioning initiative. There's just one problem: how do you get citizens to participate? How do you persuade a cross-section of your community to attend vision meetings and share their ideas about the future? Pick up the phone, recommends civic consultant Otis White. Dialing for Citizens by Otis White From the Spring 2009 issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal. Available to order & immediately download. Use icon button at end of excerpt below. Do you subscribe to the Planning Commissioners Journal? If so, we would be pleased to email you a complimentary .pdf of this article. Just email us at: pcjoffice@gmail.com (include the article title in your email). You may need to wait a bit if you email us when our office is closed. Not a subscriber? Consider starting with our Spring issue. Order online or phone us at: 802.864.9083 (Monday-Friday, 10am to 3pm Eastern).

Read excerpt from start of article: You've worked hard to organize a community visioning initiative. You've raised the money. You've thought through how citizens will participate, how their ideas will be incorporated in the plan, how the plan will be compiled and presented. You've even considered how to bring along community leaders, like city council members and business leaders, so they embrace the final product. There's just one problem: how do you get citizens to participate? How do you persuade a cross-section of your community to attend vision meetings and share their ideas about the future? This is critical because, in my experience, visioning efforts don't succeed on the quality of the plans they produce. They succeed because citizens recognize these plans as -- reflections of their ideas and ambitions -- and support them. And for that to happen, you need the citizens to … well, show up and participate. I've worked on a number of community visioning initiatives and, along the way, tried many ways of coaxing citizens out of their homes and into meetings, from publicity efforts to working with civic groups and neighborhood associations. We've built web sites, cranked out press releases, placed flyers in public libraries, advertised with online groups, mounted speakers' bureaus, and conducted e-mail blitzes. We even persuaded one business to donate time on its outdoor marquee signs to promote meetings. Most of these things work to some degree. My advice is to do them all. But the single most effective way we've found of convincing citizens to turn off the television and spend a winter evening talking about their community's future is with phone trees. That's right. The old, reliable form of communications: one person calling another. Make no mistake. Phone trees are demanding. We spend twice as much time organizing them as we do on all other communications efforts combined, including building web sites. If other ways of involving citizens worked as well, we'd hang up on the phone trees in an instant. But they don't. ... Otis White continues by describing the steps needed to organize an effective phone tree, and some things to watch out for. The full article can be ordered & downloaded. Click this icon for details.

In Roadway Safety, Pedestrians & Bicyclists Count Too

Transportation planners know how critical it is to assess safety issues. But what can we do if a strategy to improve safety for one group of roadway users, such as drivers, has the unintended effect of decreasing safety for others, such as pedestrians? Some ways to make roadways safer for everyone. Growing Safer: Improving Roadways for Everyone by Hannah Twaddell From the Spring 2009 issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal. Available to order & immediately download. Use icon button at end of excerpt below. Do you subscribe to the Planning Commissioners Journal? If so, we would be pleased to email you a complimentary .pdf of this article. Just email us at: pcjoffice@gmail.com (include the article title in your email). You may need to wait a bit if you email us when our office is closed. Not a subscriber? Consider starting with our Spring issue. Order online or phone us at: 802.864.9083 (Monday-Friday, 10am to 3pm Eastern).

Read excerpt from article: Transportation projects travel a long road from concept to ribbon-cutting. Many hands, eyes, and heads are applied to each project along its journey, from policy-makers and community members to planners, financiers, and engineers. At each stage, the design and purpose of the project must be reiterated and interpreted by a different group of people. Any engineer will tell you that his or her number one priority on any roadway design project is safety. All transportation planners know how critical it is to assess safety issues when they analyze the performance of a transportation corridor. Policy makers are sure to reference safety loud and clear on transportation mission statements. But do all of us define "safety" the same way? And what can we do if a strategy to improve safety for one group of roadway users, such as drivers, has the unintended effect of decreasing safety for other groups, such as pedestrians? ... Transportation Policies: Spell It Out It's no secret that America is an automobile-dominated country. When someone says "transportation," most of us picture a road with cars and trucks on it. Moreover, the vast majority of our literature and research about planning and designing safe roadways is focused on improving vehicle mobility and safety. But over the past decade or so, growing numbers of forward-thinking communities and transportation agencies have adopted "complete streets" policies to make their roadways safe and accessible for people of all ages and abilities traveling by all modes -- pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders, as well as drivers. Sidebar, Complete Streets. The process of implementing a complete streets policy, however, can present planners and decision-makers with some difficult choices. A strategy focused on improving driver safety and mobility can end up making the roadway less safe for pedestrians. For example, adding a channelized right turn lane to a busy intersection may keep cars moving along, but it can lengthen the crossing distance for pedestrians and make them harder for fast-moving drivers to see. It is important to put these kinds of questions on the table when considering the consequences of roadway planning and design proposals. Photo of small segment of 9th Avenue "complete street" in Manhattan. Cities and towns that have adopted complete streets policies are asking new questions and coming up with innovative solutions to balance safety, mobility, and accessibility for all roadway users. By contrast, communities with more traditional policies that just refer to general roadway safety have less incentive to move beyond "default" mode in which vehicle mobility typically takes priority. As a result, important questions about the safety of other roadway users may not be raised. ... The full article can be ordered & downloaded. Click this icon for details.

Our May Special Offer

From Planning Commissioners Journal Editor Wayne Senville: We're doing something a bit different for this month's special, in keeping with my "Circle the USA" trip. Take a look at some of the trip reports I've already posted from the road and then consider helping us out by "Chipping In" to cover a portion of our future costs. As a small, independent publication, we need your help. In return for a contribution of any amount ($10, $25, $50, or whatever you'd like to contribute), we'll provide you with a special 29 page, full color .pdf of my reports & analysis from Crossing America on Route 50, my last major trip. View the Contents page from Crossing America on Route 50 (.pdf). This publication is normally priced at $19.75. We'll also list you as a supporter on our Circle the USA web blog (note: contributions are not tax deductible).

To contribute & receive your copy of Crossing America on Route 50, go to: www.CircleTheUSA.com and use the "ChipIn" button on the right hand sidebar. We'll then email you a link enabling you to easily download our Crossing America publication.

Our Spring Issue: Now Available

Note from Planning Commissioners Journal Editor Wayne Senville about our Spring issue: The Density Challenge. That's what many of us face: trying to figure out what densities will work best in our communities, and where. Density-related disputes can be among the most heated that planning commissioners face. In this issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal, planning consultant Elizabeth Humstone asks us to take a step back, and consider some of the factors that come into play when considering density. Transportation & Safety. Our transportation planning columnist, Hannah Twaddell, focuses in our Spring issue on why transportation planners need to consider more than just motor vehicles when considering safety. You'll hear about "complete streets," and read some startling statistics on the financial impacts of traffic accidents. Rounding out our issue: -- Civic consultant Otis White explains how phone trees can be used to generate high turnout at planning-related meetings. -- Elaine Cogan offers her insights on how planning commissioners can be most effective at meetings. -- The Editors of Planetizen report on some web sites worth visiting. One other important piece of news. I've just returned from the first leg of a multi-year "project" -- circling the U.S. to report on planning issues facing a wide range of communities, big and small, East, West, North, and South. You can follow my travels on: www.CircleTheUSA.com. Take a look at my first 18 reports. Hope to have the chance to meet some of you along the way. Subscribe to the Planning Comm'rs Journal, and start with our Spring issue, now available. To order online, go to the bottom of the page. You can also order by calling our office: 802-864-9083. Note: government orders can call and request to be invoiced. If you just want to download this issue (without a subscription) or want to download individual articles from the Spring issue, use this link.

Contents of our Spring issue
Getting the Density You Want by Beth Humstone Perhaps nothing gets a community more riled up than a discussion of density. Some fear that density, if too high, will create congestion, deplete open space, and block light and air. Others fear that density, if too low, will eat up valuable natural resources and fail to meet housing needs. A look at how you can plan for the density that works best for your community.
	Density Without High-Rises? by Edward T. McMahon High-rise buildings are not necessarily the best answer to promoting denser, more walkable communities, argues Urban Land Institute Senior Resident Fellow Ed McMahon.
Growing Safer: Improving Roadways for Everyone by Hannah Twaddell Transportation planners know how critical it is to assess safety issues. But what can we do if a strategy to improve safety for one group of roadway users, such as drivers, has the unintended effect of decreasing safety for others, such as pedestrians? Some ways to make roadways safer for everyone.
	Dialing for Citizens by Otis White You've worked hard to organize a community visioning initiative. But how do you persuade a cross-section of your community to attend vision meetings and share their ideas about the future? Pick up the phone, recommends civic consultant Otis White.
How Do We Get There? by Jim Segedy and Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy What's the recipe for successful implementation of your community's plan? One key is to get citizens involved -- and not have them view their participation as work! That's the focus of this installment of the Segedys' series on preparing the comprehensive plan.
	Learning to Enjoy Your Service on the Commission by Elaine Cogan How can you do a better job as a planning commissioner? Long-time PCJ columnist Elaine Cogan offers some basic principles for your consideration.
Planetizen Update Seven web sites of special interest to citizen planners.

Subscribe to the Planning Comm'rs Journal ($67/year), and start with our Spring issue. For more information about the Journal. note: use the above button except for local government orders from cities under 25,000 pop., counties under 75,000, and non-profit organizations eligible for our small community rate ($55/year) -- please use this link instead. You can also order by calling our office: 802-864-9083. Note: government orders can call and request to be invoiced.

Back from first leg of "Circle the USA"

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

Just returned from a fascinating week on the road -- the first segment of my planned "Circle the USA" travels. I've filed the following reports, with three more still to post. Take a look, and sign up for Circle the USA blog feed and/or email updates.

 

-- Main Street Mill: "The Perfect Trifecta"

-- "A Harbor You Can Sail Into"

-- Wrestling a Yankee

-- Downtown Housing -Minus Parking +Plus Commercial

-- A "Utility Player" Among Planners

-- The Two Faces of Cooperstown

-- Who's Planning?

-- For the Love of Steam

-- Leadership for Diversity

-- Punching Through the Walls

-- Where America's Oil Industry Was Born

-- College & Community

-- Gateway Art

My next two segments will cover Cleveland to Chicago (primarily through southern Michigan and northern Indiana), and then Chicago to Seattle. Again, check out our Circle the USA web site where announcements will be posted.

PCJ Winter 2009 Issue Now Available

Subscribe to the Planning Comm'rs Journal ($67/year), and start with our Winter issue. For more information about the Journal. note: use the above button except for local government orders from cities under 25,000 pop., counties under 75,000, and non-profit organizations eligible for our small community rate ($55/year) -- please use this link instead. Government orders can request to be invoiced; call us at: 802-864-9083.
OR order a print copy of the issue for $17.75 (without subscribing) -- delivered by first-class mail. Use this button. OR download a copy of this issue for $15.75 (or $75.00 for license to print up to 20 copies). OR order & download invidivual articles from the issue; click on article titles below (you'll also find excerpts from each article).
Contents of the Winter 2009 Planning Commissioners Journal:
Managing Stormwater Runoff: A Green Infrastructure Approach by Lynn Richards -- and -- Taking Low Impact Development from Research to Regulations by John S. Rozum, AICP, and David W. Dickson The practice of stormwater management is evolving beyond engineered approaches applied at the site level to an approach that looks at managing stormwater in more natural ways. But before "green infrastructure" and "low impact development" techniques can be implemented, changes to local land development policies and regulations may be needed.
	The ABC's of TOD: Transit-Oriented Development by Hannah Twaddell Transit is making a remarkable comeback. But one of the most intriguing aspects is that it is being helped along by -- and helping to stimulate -- new development close by transit stops. A look at how TOD works & its benefits to communities.
Community Self-Assessment by Jim Segedy, FAICP, and Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, AICP How can you ensure that your comprehensive plan makes sense as a whole, and guides decision-making to choices that create a healthy, balanced community? One important way is by engaging in a community self-assessment, a process that helps identify issues and build consensus.
	Meaningful Dialogue With the Public by Elaine Cogan By engaging in a true dialogue with the public, you may learn some useful information and actually enjoy the give-and-take.
Different Perspectives by Ric Stephens Do you ever try to assess how you and your fellow planning board members look through the eyes of those attending your meetings? Getting feedback can yield valuable insights, and lead to changes in how your commission conducts its business.
	Planetizen Update Highlights from the top planning news stories reported in 2008 on Planetizen's pages.

In Future issues: How Phone Trees Can Increase Public Participation | Key Public Safety Issues in Transportation Planning | Strategies for Avoiding Contentious Public Hearings | Good vs. Bad Density | Using Zoning Incentives | Planning Strategies to Promote Energy Conservation | and much more
Recent Back Issues:	Special Focus Issues:
Fall 2008: Pattern Books: A Planning Tool | GIS & Planning | Where Do We Want to Go? | and more	Winter 2006: Bright Ideas: 21 creative planning-related ideas & programs you should know about
Summer 2008: Greenways | Developing at the Edge | An Introduction to Charrettes | and more	Fall 2005: This Land Is Your Land: on "takings" and property rights, and how planners can respond
Spring 2008: Car Sharing | Revisiting Ex Parte Contacts | Chairing the Commission | and more	Fall 2004: Back to School for Planners: on the impacts of school location, and the relationship between planning and school boards
Winter 2008: Downtown Futures: continuing a series of reports from planners across the U.S., focusing on downtown issues	Spring 2004: Sphere of Influence: water and its impacts
Fall 2007: Crossing America: a series of reports from planners across the U.S. | Bypass Highways | and more	Fall 2003: Planning for Historic Preservation: an introduction to historic preservation planning
Summer 2007: Planning for Better Roadscapes | Fitting Roadways to Community Needs | and more	Winter 2002: Opening the Door: planning for affordable housing
Spring 2007: "Visitability" & Inclusive Housing | Downtown Economic Development | Engaging the Public | Geometry of Zoning | and more	Spring 2000: The Promise of America: noted planning historian Laurence Gerckens, FAICP, looks back at 10 successes & 10 failures that have most affected America's cities

Contentious, Non-Productive, Public Hearings

Request for your help:

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

I am preparing an article for the Planning Commissioners Journal focusing on the situation described below. I would welcome feedback on ways of improving on the following all-too-common scenario.

Contentious, non-productive public hearings:

Many planning commissioners, at least occasionally, have had the experience of arriving at a public hearing to find a large crowd of citizens angry about a proposed development in their neighborhood. Often the hearing begins with a lengthy presentation by the applicant's architects, engineers, planners, and (sometimes) lawyers explaining the merits of their project and why it must be approved -- followed by a line of residents coming to the microphone to highlight a lengthy list of problems with the project. And often, the temperature in the meeting room feels like it's rising.

Planning commissioners often feel thrust into the middle of controversial projects. Yes, it is their job to decide (or recommend) on the application, but they may ask themselves why many issues between the developer and neighborhood haven't been resolved in advance. At some public hearings, planning commissioners may wish they could call a time out and get the two sides to sit down and work out some of the issues.

Looking for your feedback on the following:

1. are there pre-hearing approaches your community takes to identify projects likely to be controversial, and then seek to resolve some of the contentious developer/community issues?

I'm interested in hearing about approaches ranging from: neighborhood association review; other forms of informal dialogue and meetings; sketch plan review; community-developer advance agreements; the use of staff comments & recommendations; and anything else that has worked to resolve (or reduce) disputed issues in advance of the required public hearing.

Also, are there methods (or criteria) you use in advance to identify projects likely to be controversial? Or do you just know?

2. more productive hearings --

-- are there approaches you've used to design more productive public hearings?
-- are there alternatives to the familiar sequence of staff overview; developer project presentation; public testimony; commissioner question period?
-- do you require the developer to make available models of the project or other visuals?
-- how do you most effectively allow for both public and planning commissioner input?
-- do you ever table projects (in effect, calling a time out) and then set up an informal process for resolving certain issues?

The best way you can provide feedback is by using the Cyburbia online bulletin board system. If you're not familiar with Cyburbia -- the best place to seek answers to planning-related questions on the Web -- here's your chance to get familiar with it, while helping me out with this upcoming Planning Commissioners Journal article.

Cyburbia is fairly easy to use. But you'll need to register (it's free) in order to post a reply to my questions (or to any material posted in Cyburbia's forums).

To view the "thread" containing my questions (the same ones as posted above) AND replies already posted -- AND then for you to add your own reply, go to:
http://www.cyburbia.org/forums/showthread.php?t=34921  -- you'll need to scroll down a bit once on the Cyburbia page to view the thread.

Here's a composite screenshot of part what you'll see. If you click on the image you'll go to the actual page (again, you'll need to scroll down the page).

Remember, you'll be prompted to register for Cyburbia first, if you haven't already done so. (You'll notice that most individuals who use Cyburbia select screen names for their postings, so you don't have to reveal your name when you post a comment on Cyburbia).

However, if you prefer to provide your feedback to my questions by email privately to me, feel free to do so: editor@plannersweb.com

Thanks for your help -- you'll be assisting in making this a better article!

Envisioning Greenways: Our Summer Issue

-- Subscribe to the Planning Commissioners Journal starting with our Summer issue.

-- To order the Summer issue (without subscribing) or to download individual articles from the issue.

Contents of Summer Planning Comm'rs Journal:

Happy Trails: Greenways for Everybody by Hannah Twaddell Across the country, citizens are increasingly calling for improved and expanded multi-use trails, both for recreational and commuting purposes. Transportation planner Hannah Twaddell outlines a "four-step path" to developing a successful greenway trail.
	Developing at the Edge by Tom Daniels A continuing challenge facing many local planning commissions is how to best plan for new development at the edge of existing settled areas. This can be particularly acute in communities facing growth pressure. A look at some tools and strategies for guiding development at the edge.
An Introduction to Charrettes by Bill Lennertz, Aarin Lutzenhiser, & Tamara Failor Everyone involved in a community planning effort benefits from a process that is accelerated, well-planned, and productive. The goal of a charrette is to bring decision makers and community members together in one place to create a plan that represents a detailed, feasible agreement -- a consensus which can otherwise take months to achieve.
	This Plan's For You by Jim Segedy and Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy In developing a comprehensive plan, one of the most important questions to ask is: who are we? This calls not just for demographic analysis, but an understanding of how your community defines its identity.
Visioning Can Be Planning Writ Large by Elaine Cogan Engaging in a visioning process for your city or town can be an exciting, but challenging, undertaking. A look at the key elements in this process.
	Planetizen Update The Editors of Planetizen highlight five new books of special interest to citizen planners.
Planning Commission Physics by Ric Stephens Does the "physics" of your planning commission reflect a mechanical or a systems model? How understanding of these models (with reflections from a butterfly) can help shape decision-making.

Subscribe to the Planning Commissioners Journal starting with our Summer issue, due out July 28th.

Now Available: Our Spring Issue

Our Spring issue is now available. Use this link for details on the contents. You can either order and download the full issue, or individual articles. The Spring issue can also be ordered for delivery by mail.

CONTENTS:

• The Next Generation of Your Planning Commission, by Kit Hodge
• Consider the Needs of Generation Xers in Your Public Involvement Strategies, by Elaine Cogan
• Revisiting Ex Parte Contacts, by C. Gregory Dale, FAICP
• Ready for Car Sharing?, by Hannah Twaddell
• Chairing the Planning Commission, by Carol J. Whitlock
• Your Community’s Little Instruction Book, by Lisa Hollingsworth and Jim Segedy
• The Importance of Cookies, by Ric Stephens

Meet Lisa & Jim ... our new columnists

From PCJ General Manager Betsey Krumholz:

We are pleased to welcome new columnists Lisa Hollingsworth and Jim Segedy to the Planning Commissioners Journal (PCJ). They each bring a wealth of experience and tremendous practical knowledge, and together will provide our readers with information and insight into the "nuts and bolts" of planning commission business.

They are resuming "The Planning Commission at Work" column, which was written for many years by Mike Chandler. Lisa and Jim begin a four-part series on the comprehensive planning process in our Spring 2008 issue.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa and Jim by phone recently -- to find out more about their extensive planning backgrounds, and why they want to be involved with the PCJ. They're both dedicated and highly motivated individuals -- who also truly enjoy the work they do. We believe that with their combined talents and experience, our readers will be in for a treat.

Just a bit of background.

Lisa is currently Managing Partner with "The Community Partnership" based in Liberty, Missouri. Over the years she has worked on planning issues in communities in a number of states, including many rural areas.

Jim is Senior Planner and Urban Designer with Olsson Associates, also in the Kansas City area. He is also Professor and Director Emeritus of Community Based Projects at Indiana's Ball State University. Jim has co-authored the Small Town Planning Handbook, published by APA Planners Press. Last, but not least, he's a past member of the Delaware County-Muncie [Indiana] Metropolitan Plan Commission.

Here are excerpts from our conversation:

Ready for Car Sharing?

For some good online resources on car sharing, take a look at: Dave Brook's CarSharing.us blog. Brook was founder of Carsharing Portland, the first commercial car sharing company in the U.S. in 1998. He later worked with Flexcar, which recently merged into Zipcar. Dave also recently posted a google map showing North American cities with car sharing programs. Bringing Car Sharing to Your Community. An excellent guide to car sharing prepared by San Francisco's City CarShare (pdf format; download shorter version of guide or download longer version of guide). TCRP Report 108: Car-Sharing: Where and How It Succeeds. Probably the most comprehensive publication currently available examining the development of car sharing programs and their benefits. Published by the highly respected Transportation Research Board, the publication is available to download (pdf format) For links to a variety of newspaper articles on car sharing, go to CarSharing.net. Finally, here are some of the car sharing programs discussed in Hannah's article in the Planning Comm'rs Journal: -- PhillyCarShare -- Chicago I-GO -- Zipcar -- Enterprise Rent-A-Car -- Arlington, Virginia, Car Sharing -- San Francisco City CarShare

From PCJ Editor Wayne Senville:

Curious about one of the hottest trends in transportation. We've got an excellent article, "Ready for Car Sharing?" in our Spring issue. Written by our transportation columnist Hannah Twaddell, it will help you understand how car sharing works, and factors in successful programs. You can take a look at excerpts from Hannah's article and, if you're interested, order & download the full four-page article. Take a look also at the video clips at the end of this posting.

Right now, car sharing is more common in larger cities. But it's expanding to smaller places, especially where partnerships can work together to promote it -- and where neighborhoods have high enough densities to support it.

Private businesses such as Zipcar, U-Haul, and Enterprise Rent-a-Car are also expanding their neighborhood-based operations to more communities. For a recent article on this newly competitive environment, see "Warning to Zipcar: Traffic Ahead" (Boston Globe, Mar. 30, 2008).

But in smaller cities, it still usually takes a nonprofit to get a car sharing program underway.

PCJ General Manager Betsey Krumholz recently spoke with Annie Bourdon, Executive Director of a nonprofit car sharing program under development in Burlington, Vermont. Take note, in particular, of the supportive role being played by the county metropolitan planning organization (MPO), which sees the value car sharing can play in reducing overall vehicle use and benefitting the region's transportation infrastructure.

Car Sharing Comes to Vermont
by PCJ General Manager Betsey Krumholz

"Car sharing programs can be successful in a lot of communities," asserts Annie Bourdon of Green Mountain CarShare in Burlington, Vermont. "The key is in understanding the needs and habits of the community in which it operates."

Bourdon is heading up this new organization, on a mission "to provide an affordable, convenient, and reliable alternative to private car ownership that enhances the environmental, social and economic well-being of our region and planet." It is gearing up for operation in Burlington, a city of 39,000 residents,

Revised & Expanded "Planning Law"

From PCJ General Manager Betsey Krumholz:

We're pleased to announce the publication of our newly revised Taking a Closer Look: Planning Law reprint collection.

You'll find a number of the top articles we've published on basic legal issues facing planners and planning commissions, as well as a section containing five articles dealing with various aspects of property rights & takings. 

I invite you to take a look at the detailed contents of this publication. You can order online or by calling our office at: 802-864-9083 (best between 9am and 3pm Eastern time). Local government orders can request to be invoiced when phoning in their order.