Plan for Achieving the Purposeof the County Planning Division of APA
This Development Plan was prepared by the County Planning Division (CPD) Steering Committee as one of the required components for establishing a new division within the American Planning Association (APA). It is intended to demonstrate how the new Division will achieve its mission and purpose.
The Mission
The County Planning Division seeks to strengthen relationships among county planners, county elected officials, and other county personnel by facilitating the sharing of technical information, encouraging continuing professional development of its members, researching county planning issues, and building strong ties with other organizations and disciplines with related interests.
The Two-Year and Five-Year Development Plan has been prepared to be consistent with Section 9.6 of the APA Bylaws, which states that "each Division shall prepare and maintain a long-range plan of development based upon an assessment of the state of information in its sector, needs for research, relations with government programs, relations with other organizations, its weaknesses and potential strengths." The Development Plan is also being prepared to be consistent with the APA Division Performance Criteria, which state that "each Division shall prepare an Annual Work Plan which identifies specific quantifiable goals for the coming year, based on the mission statement, surveys or assessments of members' needs or interests, and Division Performance Criteria established by the Divisions Council. This Work Plan can be a listing of goals and objectives, much of which correspond to these [Division Performance] criteria." These criteria include:
Most of the members of the County Planning Division (CPD) Steering Committee have many years of experience serving with the National Association of County Planners (NACP). Also, most of the members of NACP will now be bringing their expertise and experience to the CPD. To help demonstrate the ability of this Division to succeed, the Two-Year Development Plan identifies many of the successful activities of the NACP and states how the CPD will be able to benefit from this existing proficiency. The Five-Year Development Plan provides longer-range goals for further enhancement of the Division.
1. Membership Service Criteria
Communications: Each Division shall communicate with its members on a regular basis. These communications may include any combination of the following: newsletter, web site, listserv, and membership surveys.
The CPD will regularly communicate with its members with a newsletter, website, and listserv. There will be a quarterly newsletter mailed/e-mailed to all members. Since newsletters function better as a vehicle to communicate time-sensitive information, the CPD will use it primarily for that purpose, utilizing other web-related tools to disseminate and make available to planners important research, resources, and writings.
The membership of the CPD will bring existing experience in maintaining a website and operating a listserv. That existing presence of county planning on the internet should help these new activities of the CPD to flourish earlier.
The CPD will seek opportunities to communicate with the larger membership of APA through its many publications. The members will also take advantage of invitations to provide articles for a wider county audience through publications such at County News.
Following the creation of the County Planning Division, its leadership will conduct a membership survey for the purpose of identifying the specific items and activities on which members would like the CPD to focus.
Conference Sessions: Each Division shall sponsor at least two sessions at every national planning conference and may, at its option, compete for additional conference sessions.
The County Planning Division intends to sponsor at least two sessions at each national planning conference. The ability to sponsor these sessions is a motivating factor in the formation of this Division. These sessions will allow us to present to our members, as well as to other APA members, the latest trends and techniques in county planning. The CPD will propose a process that will allow the Divisions Council to coordinate some of the sessions of the divisions. The purpose of this process would be to make available an opportunity to bring together topics of common interest that cross division lines. They can then be tackled with greater resources, broadened in scope, and offered in a coordinated fashion. This may include linking sessions together in the tracts proposed by APA, or even proposing additional mini-tracts.
Opportunities for any coordinated session proposals by the Divisions could be pursued at the APA Annual Planning Conference. Such a process would be enhanced if the Divisions were furnished a copy of proposed tracks for the following year in advance of that Divisions Council meeting.
County planners participated in a session at the 2006 APA Annual Conference in San Antonio. The session, titled "Using GIS to Protect Water Quality," focused on how planners in Albany County, Wyoming, and Henrico County, Virginia, used GIS tools to maximize water quality protection through land use planning and watershed agreements.
An important purpose of the CPD is to strengthen the relationship between professional planners and county elected officials to promote successful county-level planning. To advance this goal, the CPD will reach out to county officials by participation at national, regional, and state events of the National Association of Counties (NACo). In past years, county planners have conducted sessions at the 2005 NACo Annual Conference and also sponsored sessions at the Nevada Association of Counties and the Virginia Association of Counties annual conferences.
At the 2005 NACo Annual Conference, which was held in July 2005, county planners sponsored three sessions. The first workshop, "Transportation Planning in Rural Areas: How is it done in Hawaii?" was moderated by the Honorable Lorraine R. Inouye, State Senator for the First Senatorial District in the state of Hawaii. The second session focused on new Federal rules requiring state transportation agency consultation with rural local officials. The final session, which was co-sponsored by the National Association of County Parks and Recreation Officials, was "Conservation and Trail Easements: Essential Tools for Open Space Protection." The session featured panelists from counties that received the 2005 Conservation Leadership Award. County planners also sponsored a conservation development workshop and tour at the 2006 NACO Annual Conference, which was held in Chicago in August.
At the Nevada Association of Counties annual conference, which was held in October 2005, Steering Committee Member Mike Harper, FAICP, provided a 75-minute session on "Issues in County Master Planning," which was attended by approximately 50 county elected and appointed officials. At the Virginia Association of Counties annual conference, which was held in November 2005, there was a 90-minute session on "Development Rights/Purchase or Transfer" that was moderated by Steering Committee Member Angela Harper, FAICP, and featured speakers who are or have been county planners: the Executive Director of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation; the Agricultural Development Officer for Fauquier County, VA; and the Development Manager for James City County, VA. Approximately 80 county officials attended the session. In November 2006, also in Virginia, there was a two-hour workshop on "Cluster Development" and "Transfer of Development Rights" led by Mike Chandler.
During the period covered by this Development Plan, the CPD will sponsor sessions at APA Chapter meetings, and participate in state, regional, and national NACo events as opportunities present themselves. Each CPD member will be encouraged to arrange planning sessions within their respective states and APA Chapters.
The CPD's proposed budget includes funds to assist with travel costs and/or event registration fees and/or to provide honoraria as may be necessary to encourage top quality presenters.
Annual Meetings: Each Division shall hold at least one business meeting per year.
The CPD will hold its annual meeting during the APA National Planning Conference.
Outreach: Engage in outreach activities to involve Division members in policy and program development and to solicit volunteers to support agency activities.
During the period covered by this Development Plan, the proposed County Planning Division will focus on its core mission – advocating for effective planning within county government, whether urban, suburban, or rural. To be successful in this mission, the Division will leverage the resources available from APA and Division members. Initial efforts will center on sponsoring outstanding conference sessions and mobile workshops at the APA conferences. These activities will provide forums for encouraging more planners to join the CPD and for encouraging Division members to contribute to future sessions and workshops.
We will also encourage members to participate in their APA Chapter and APA policy-making opportunities to further the CPD Mission. The Past President of NACP is a voting member of the "policy making" Board of NACo. The current NACP President is a voting member of the NACo Sustainability Leadership Team that makes policy recommendations to that Board. It is expected that the planners who will hold these positions in the future will also be members of the CPD.
Division members will be consulted for suggestions for programs for the Division, themes for the newsletter, and training initiatives.
2. Operational Criteria
Membership: Each Division shall maintain at least 100 paid members for two out of every three years.
Becoming an APA Division requires signatures and a commitment to join the new County Planning Division from at least 100 APA members. The Steering Committee already has more than 200 APA members committed to join the CPD.
The National Association of County Planning Directors (NACPD) was created as an affiliate of NACo in 1965. This was in the days of AIP and ASPO before there was an APA. By 1980 there were over 600 members even with the membership limited to just planning directors.
4,077 (28%) members responded to the 2005 AICP Continuing Education Survey. 62% of those responding indicated that they worked for a public agency. 20% of those listed county agency as their employment. Even though there is no absolute way to determine agency affiliation in the APA database, there are at least 2600 APA members that have county listed in some way in their profile.
This information tells us of the untapped potential for Division membership.
Elections: Each Division shall hold elections to fill each officer position, in accordance with the Division's specific bylaws, but not less than every four years.
The Officers of the CPD will include Chair, Chair-Elect, Immediate Past Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. Officers will serve two-year terms.
Financial Responsibility: Each Division shall strive to utilize their funds responsibly, not depleting all of their financial resources at any given time or maintaining large uncommitted balances in their treasuries.
NACP, and its predecessor NACo affiliate (NACPD), has existed since 1965. During those four decades the organization has handled its own fiscal affairs in a responsible manner, to include avoiding the depletion of financial resources. Since most of these county planners are expected to become members of CPD, the organization should have an increased level of fiscal expertise.
A draft two-year budget has been prepared. It is included in the proposal to become a Division of APA.
Financial Reporting: The Financial Report for the previous (or most recent) fiscal year and last quarter shall be submitted to the Divisions Council as described below in "Division Performance Review Process." The report shall include the identification of all sources of income as well as expenditures. A copy of this report will be made available to the Divisions Staff Liaison.
The County Planning Division will utilize its funds responsibly. The annual Financial Report will be submitted to the APA Divisions Council.
Bylaws: Divisions shall operate under a current set of bylaws. Divisions shall review their bylaws biennially and update as needed. Model bylaws are available from staff upon request.
The CPD Steering Committee has prepared bylaws as a component of establishing the organization as a Division of APA. Once the Division is established, the bylaws will be reviewed on a periodic basis and revised if necessary to accommodate desirable changes in the Division.
Divisions Council Meetings: The Division Chair, or appointed representative, is to attend the annual meeting and the fall leadership meeting.
The CPD Chair will attend future Divisions Council Meetings and Fall Leadership Meetings. The proposed Budget includes funds to assist with the travel costs.
Annual Report: Each Division shall provide a written report to the Division members, Divisions Council, and APA Board of Directors concerning Division programs, service performance, and budget, as well as a report on APA staff services to the Division. This report shall be prepared and submitted as described in the Performance Review Process.
The CPD plans to provide its membership with an annual summary of activities in a "Report from the Chair" within its newsletter. The Division will also develop an annual report consistent with the APA's performance review process requirements. This report will be submitted to the Divisions Council and APA Board of Directors, but also made available to its members.
Governance: Each Division shall be governed with full consultation among Division officers as identified in the Division bylaws.
The Executive Committee of the CPD will include the Chair, Chair Elect, Immediate Past Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. Officers will serve two-year terms.
There will be an Annual Meeting of the organization at the APA Annual Conference, and conference calls by the Board of Directors on a quarterly basis.
3. National APA Coordination Criteria
Policy Issues: Respond to requests for advice or assistance from the APA staff on national policy matters relating to the Division's particular sector of interest or expertise.
Members of the CPD will assist the APA staff on policy matters related to county planning. Establishing a County Planning Division is an important step in the APA's promotion of planning at the county level and its support of the efforts and unique contributions of county planners.
As the CPD grows in membership, it will strengthen its effectiveness in participating in county planning activities, especially those at the state level. The experience of the existing NACP members who will become CPD members will offer APA an important opportunity for building a strategic alliance with a major national organization of county officials.
Mobile Workshops: A Division may propose one or more mobile workshops at a National conference or be requested to assist national APA or the Local Host Committee in conducting one or more mobile workshops. A mobile workshop sponsored by a Division may substitute for one of the two by-right conference sessions identified as a Division performance criteria.
The CPD intends to sponsor at least one mobile workshop at each national planning conference. The right to sponsor these workshops is a motivating factor in the formation of the Division. These workshops will allow the demonstration of the latest trends and techniques in County planning with guides from the region of the annual conference city. The new relationship with counties in the area will provide an additional resource.
Research: As requested, identify Division volunteers to assist in research efforts, such as serving as a PAS Report Peer Reviewer.
Members of the CPD and its Executive Committee will assist in research efforts, when requested. Through regular communication with its membership, the organization can also pursue potential topics for needed investigation and study.
Division relations with other organizations
During the period covered by this Development Plan, the CPD will develop cooperative relations with and will encourage networking between its members and other organizations within APA that share similar interests.
The CPD will also cultivate existing relationships with county elected officials through NACo and develop new relationships with organization like National Association of Regional Councils (NARC).The CPD will seek to participate with the Trust for Public Lands (TPL) and the National Association of County Parks and Recreation Officials (NACPRO) to co-sponsor the County Conservation Leadership Award Program. The award recognizes the role counties have in local and regional conservation leadership, innovation and implementation and are presented in three county population categories.
The Five-Year Development Plan provides long-range goals for the further improvement of the CPD. These goals are based on the assumption that the CDP will be meeting all Membership Service Criteria and Operational Criteria in order that greater emphasis may be placed on activities related to the National APA Coordination Criteria. In this respect, over the Five-Year Development Plan period the Division will:
In addition to and through these activities, the CPD wishes to help provide a bridge between APA and NACo. This bridge can expand NACo's emphasis on planning as an essential county government function and expand APA's emphasis on counties as a critical component of the continuum of planning — from the local to the regional to the state and to the Federal level.
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