The Best of Contemporary Community Planning

The Best of Contemporary Community Planning is a CD-ROM training package series for planning commissioners and other appointed and elected officials. Designed to complement state, chapter, and local training, these joint programs of APA and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy consist of sessions recorded at APA National Planning Conferences.

These training packages provide up-to-date legal information, the latest planning techniques, and evaluations of planning tools. They bring leading experts, researchers, practitioners, officials, and policy advocates for community planning right to your desktop or conference room screen. It's convenient and affordable continuing education that's an excellent option for group training or individual learning. Perfect for multiple training sessions.

2005 Edition — 4 new CD-ROM packages

This year, we are pleased to offer four products with multiple modules.

The 2005 CD-ROMs include:

• Audio recordings of the modules synchronized with PowerPoint presentations
• Transcripts of the modules
• Note sheets for PowerPoint slides
• Supplemental reading materials
• CD-ROM is PC compatible only

Planning Ethics for Planning Commissioners

Ethics and Planning Decision Making (75 minutes)
Ethical decision making not only builds trust and respect for the planning commission, but also underlies legal decision making. Explore the role of state ethics codes in the planning process. Review the roles of the professional code and the APA Principles of Ethical Planning. Panelists discuss sunshine laws, locally-adopted administrative procedures, and the integration of these various codes.

Panelists:

Bob Mitchell, Special Assistant for Sustainable Development; State of Massachusetts
Kathy Garcia, Planning Commissioner; City of San Diego, California
Lorie Garcia, Planning Commissioner; City of Santa Clara, California
Mike Harper, Planning Manager; Washoe County, Nevada

Planning Commissioner Ethics (75 minutes)
Planning commissions make decisions on behalf of the public and those decisions must be made within an ethical framework. This lively roundtable discussion of scenarios explores the relationship between legal responsibilities and how commissions consider varying points of view while keeping the long-term interests of the community in focus.

Panelists:

Clyde W. Forrest, AICP; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Lorie Garcia; Planning Commissioner; City of Santa Clara, California
Pat Sheffels; Bellevue, Washington Planning Commission
Stephen Sizemore, AICP; American Planning Association

Click here to order Planning Ethics for Planning Commissioners

Agreements, Fees, and Capital Improvement Programs

Development and Annexation Agreements (75 minutes)
Development and annexation agreements offer critical assurances to those involved in land development projects. The landowner is confident that the project will be completed. Government is assured that it has control over construction, is able to secure public facility dedications, and can authorize impact fees. Learn from legal experts how to draft legal annexation documents that really work.

Panelists:

David Callies; William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii at Manoa
Julie Tappendorf; Holland and Knight
Cecily Talbert; Bingham McCutcheon

Impact Fees (75 minutes)
Communities use development impact fees to raise money from new development to help finance service facilities. In the absence of impact fee authority, some communities acting upon state authorization use "cash proffers" instead. These voluntary payments made by the developer to a community are not a condition of approval, but they help mitigate the impacts of development. Learn the latest on how impact fees and cash proffers are being used and their impact on planning.

Panelists:

Arthur C. Nelson, FAICP; Virginia Tech
Robert W. Burchell; Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University
Julie Herlands; TischlerBise
Edwin Stromberg; Office of Policy Development and Research, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Effective Capital Improvements Programming (75 minutes)
Often overlooked, the CIP can help communities create an integrated urban design agenda, provide adequate public facilities, repair basic infrastructure, make strategic investments, and coordinate the work of elected and appointed officials. Learn from an elected official and a planning director how to coordinate planning and the CIP.

Panelists:

Michael Chandler; Virginia Tech
Adele Schirmer; Town of Blacksburg, Virginia

Click here to order Agreements, Fees, and CIP

The Legal Framework for Planning

Planning Commissions and the Legal Framework (75 minutes)
This is an up-to-date primer on the legal foundation for planning and for the planning commission. Planning attorney Edward Ziegler provides an overview on critical constitutional issues related to planning and current constitutional law that applies in every state. This concise, well-organized presentation will reveal whether your commission's decisions pass the test of legal defensibility. Learn what aspects of planning are most often contested and why.

Panelist:

Edward H. Ziegler; University of Denver College of Law

What Is Land? (2 hours, 15 minutes)
This is an excellent introduction to planning for land and its uses. Explore how legislation, courts, and citizens have shaped the definition of land; this definition and the rights and responsibilities that attend ownership or stewardship are at the heart of community planning. Panelists discuss the rise of the environmental, historic preservation, and property rights movements and their impact.

Panelists:

Harvey M. Jacobs; University of Wisconsin-Madison
Jerold S. Kayden; Harvard University
Deborah M. Rosenthal; Cox, Castle, & Nicholson LLP
Charles R. Wolfe; Foster Pepper & Shefelman PLLC

Dispute Resolution (75 minutes)
Learn what dispute resolution entails, what benefits it provides to planning, when it can be used, and what techniques work best in which situation. A professional negotiator and attorney, a planning attorney, and a planner provide a well-rounded perspective on how this relates to planning.

Panelists:

Dwight Merriam, FAICP; Robinson & Cole, LLP
William S. Voelker; Town of Simsbury, Connecticut
Allen J. Zerkin, J.D.; New York University

Click here to order The Legal Framework for Planning

New Approaches to Economic Development

Economic Development: Reflections on Big City Planning (75 minutes)
A significant shift has occurred in the way we think about the economic foundations of cities, with significant consequences for how cities approach economic development. Paul Gottlieb explains current thinking, analyzes the underlying research, and relates it to what has been learned from previous efforts. In response, planning directors from two large metropolitan areas tell what has been tried and learned in their cities. Find out if your community is prepared for a new era in economic development.

Panelists:

Gail Goldberg, Planning Director; City of San Diego, California
Paul Gottlieb; Department of Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics, Rutgers University
Rollin Stanley, Planning Director; St. Louis, Missouri

Economic Development and Changing Communities (60 minutes)
This is a close-up look at how planning can assist economic development. Examine the perspectives that community leaders bring to the issue and explore the concepts of economic growth and "natural capitalism." Learn how to assess your community and identify its unique competitive advantage. Speakers also cover potential obstacles and incentives, such as TIF. Learn what it takes to build your local economy from within.

Panelists:

Michael Kinsley, Research Scholar & Consultant; Rocky Mountain Institute
Emil E. Malizia, AICP; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Deb Sydenham, Community Planning Manager; Arizona Department of Commerce
William R. Anderson, AICP; Economics Research Associates

Click here to order New Approaches to Economic Development

Previous Editions of the Best of Contemporary Community Planning

To order previous editions of the Best of Contemporary Community Planning series, use the links below.

Contemporary Zoning and Codes: BCCP 2004

The Community Plan: Trends, Preparation, and Implementation: BCCP 2004

BCCP 2003
Includes: Regulating Adult Oriented Businesses; Planning Commissioner Ethics; Redesigning Cities; and Smart Growth for Citizen Planners

BCCP 2002
Includes: What Is Land?; Making Planning Engaging; Envisioning the Future; Effective Capital Improvements Programming; Dispute Resolution; Best Development Practices; Evolving Role of Environmental Planning in Community Planning; The Face of Zoning in the 21st Century; and The Future of Community Planning.