National Community Planning Month

2008 Local Events

The 2008 National Community Planning Month theme is Green Communities. Below are brief descriptions of the many local events that will be held during October.

Arkansas

Bentonville, Arkansas

Month of October
City Planning Display
Stop by the Community Development Building located at 305 SW "A" Street from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to learn about city planning in Bentonville. Displays of planning materials including maps, documents, and magazines will be in the lobby for viewing.

October 8
Audio / Web Conference
Attend an audio / web conference on renewable local energy. "Today's emerging energy crisis means that many individuals and communities are increasing locally produced energy. Explore which plans and codes enable and encourage infrastructure for renewable energy such as wind and solar power. Experienced presenters discuss stumbling blocks including neighborhood opposition and aesthetic concerns. Find out what role neighborhood-scale utilities can play in improving community sustainability". The audio / web conference will be held in the Planning Commission / City Council Chambers in the Community Development building located at 305 SW "A" Street from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

October 11
Fall Clean the Streets Day
We are looking for teams of volunteers to commit a few hours to picking up litter along city streets and along the city's recreational trails. Round up your family members, neighbors, friends, church groups, or co-workers and register your team (for safety purposes, we ask that all participants be over the age of 12). Check-in will be in the lobby of the Community Development building located at 305 SW "A" Street from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

October 14
Proclamation Reading
Attend a City Council meeting and hear the Mayor proclaim that October is Community Planning Month in Bentonville.

California

California Chapter

The APA California Chapter is organizing a number of events to celebrate National Community Planning Month. Each member of APA California is asked to volunteer a minimum of six hours of community service during the month of October. Any volunteer time for the 6,000-Hour Volunteer Planning Challenge should be reported to your volunteer coordinator.

October 25, 2008
The chapter is hosting a "Model City Competition" at Legoland California in Carlsbad for students ages 5 to 14 years old. Children will be guided by planning professionals to ensure all elements of a model city are considered.

El Cajon

City of El Cajon employees celebrated National Community Planning Month by donating used blue jeans for recycling. The contribution was presented to San Diego Habitat for Humanity, in conjunction with their "100th Home" celebration. The recycling effort was an impromptu campaign in support of El Cajon's local theme, "Moving Toward a Greener Community".

The denim will be shipped to a processor, then forwarded to Bonded Logic, in Chandler, Arizona, where the natural fibers will be turned into "UltraTouch" batt insulation. This is a "green" building material that contains no formaldehyde or harmful irritants, is fire resistant, and designed to inhibit the growth of pests, mold, and mildew.

San Diego Habitat for Humanity has committed to using UltraTouch insulation in the second phase of the affordable housing development that they are constructing in El Cajon.

For further information, please contact the Planning Division at 619-441-1741.

City of El Cajon City Council Proclamation (pdf)

Image: Pictured is Barbara Ramirez (second from right), principal planner of the City of El Cajon, with Habitat for Humanity employees: Janelle and Dustin.

Colorado

Arapahoe County

The Arapahoe County Planning Division and Communications Services staff created an informational sheet for residents on why planning matters. The informational sheets will be distributed inside reusable bags to encourage residents to skip using paper or plastic bags for small shopping trips.

Georgia

Valdosta, Georgia

The City of Valdosta will be celebrating National Community Planning Month throughout October with a number of activities. Mayor John Fretti has proclaimed October as National Community Planning Month in the city. Citizens can participate in a river clean up, tour the city's state-of-the-art water plan, join city planners at a roundtable discussion and visit the traffic management center.

For more information visit: www.valdostacity.com/Index.aspx?page=383

Columbus, Georgia

The Columbus, Georgia, Planning Department held a number of activities in October to raise awareness about planning and the department within the community. Activities included:

Watch a video about the planning department's role within the community

Visiting several schools within the community such as Blackmon Middle, Carver High, and Columbus High Schools to educate students about the importance of planning in the community and provide an overview of the department.

Presenting an information display and handouts at the Columbus main library. Residents could sign-up for "In-Touch" an e-mail system designed to keep citizens informed with the latest planning news (photo left).

See a sample of the planning department brochure (pdf)

The Mayor proclaimed October as National Community Planning Month. (pdf)

Indiana

Urban Planning Scholar Speaker Series
October 28, 2008
9:00-11:00 a.m.

Hear from Neal Angrisano, Deputy Director of Johnson County (Kansas) Facilities Management Department speak about how more and more public entities are leading the way in environmentally responsible buildings and infrastructure.

Green Communities Panel Discussion
October 29, 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Neal Angrisano, Deputy Director of Johnson County (Kansas) Facilities Management Department; David Forsell, President of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc.; Micah Hill, Operations Manager for The Re-Development Group, Inc.; and Luke Leising, Board Member of the Indiana Green Building Council. Panelists will focus on local green initiatives.

Kansas

Wichita-Sedgwick County

The Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department is recognizing National Community Planning Month with a proclamation reading at the Wichita City Council meeting and the Sedgwick County Commission meeting. A short video celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wichita-Sedgwich County Metropolitan Area Planning founding will be shown at the beginning of each meeting.

Minnesota

Pine City, Minnesota

October 22, 2008
The Pine City Planning Commission will host an open house, enabling citizens to get an insider's view of planning topics, tools, and techniques. The open house will be held in conjunction with the commission's regular meeting on October 22. Photos and maps will be used to highlight past accomplishments and current planning projects. The open house will touch on current planning issues, pose questions about future growth decisions, and emphasized ways to participate in the planning process. Awards will be given to property owners who have vastly improved the appearance of their property and to a citizen who has made a significant difference in the realm of planning.

Nevada

Henderson, Nevada

The City of Henderson celebrated National Community Planning Month throughout October with a number of events and activities. The mayor proclaimed October as National Community Planning Month, held an open house that focused on sustainability, a photo contest for residents, and local planners visited area classrooms with an interactive zoning map.

Information on Henderson's activities (pdf)

New Hampshire

Nashua Regional Planning Commission

Nashua Regional Planning Commission's Great Places Contest to celebrate the region

Read the newspaper article about the competition

Learn more about the contest

New Jersey

New Jersey Meadowland Commission (NJMC) Seminar

October 1, 2008
"Sustainable Communities Planning Seminar" will provide information about sustainability for municipalities in New Jersey. The program will introduce a variety of sustainable planning topics to provide government representatives and technical practicitioners with a broad understanding of what they can do in their communities, including: green living, sustainable communities, green building and codes, green design, green purchasing, energy planning and energy audits, benefits of regional planning for sustainability, climate considerations and measuring your footprint, and engaging public participation by starting community green teams. Contact seminar organizer: Debbie Lawlor, AICP, at 201-460-4671.

Ohio

APA Ohio Chapter

APA Ohio Chapter, Central Section, is holding several events throughout October to celebrate National Community Planning Month. The brown bag lunch series will focus on planning concepts such as urban design, universal design, and complete streets. The section also is holding an Olentangy River clean up. Click here to see more information about the planned events.

Contact: Christine Palmer at clpalmer@columbus.gov

Texas

El Paso, Texas

The City of El Paso, Texas, has proclaimed October National Community Planning Month at the recent City Council meeting. During the meeting, the city planners were also recognized for their hard work. Throughout the month, planning displays will be located throughout the Development Services Department featuring El Paso's new SmartCode, Smart Growth issues, long-range planning projects, the new subdivision approval process, and the city's new zoning code.

October 17
The City of El Paso will hold a reception honoring the Citizen Planner of the Year, Professional Planners of the Year, City Planners, City Plan Commissions and Zoning Board of Adjustment members.

City of Grand Prairie

The Grand Prairie planning department created a brochure about the importance of planning and have distributed the flyer throughout city office.

View the flyer (pdf)

Austin, Texas

Austin Mayor Will Wynn proclaimed October as National Community Planning Month. He read the following proclamation:

Be it known that
Whereas,
Community Planning Month highlights the contributions that sound planning and plan implementation make to the quality of our neighborhoods and environment as our City changes and grows; and,
Whereas,
This month also enables us to recognize the participation and dedication of citizen planners and the members of our planning commission who have given their time and expertise to the improvement of the City of Austin and its neighborhoods; and,
Whereas,
We also recognize the many valuable contributions made by the professional planners of the City’s Neighborhood Planning and Zoning Department and extend our thanks for their continued commitment to public service;
Now, Therefore,
I, Will Wynn, Mayor of the City of Austin, Texas,
do hereby proclaim October, 2008 as Community Planning Month

Create a new community high school class

The City of Austin Neighborhood Planning and Zoning Department worked with a local high school geography class to create a new community that took into account sound land-use principles, the existing surrounding neighborhoods and sustainable community features.

Utah

Davis County

Planning Open Houses
October 21-23; 6-8 p.m.

Three planning open houses will be held across Davis County, Utah, in recognition of National Community Planning Month. The open houses will focus on the general plan update for Davis County, including a new chapter on sustainability. The sustainability chapter will focus on growth management and smart growth, sustainable communities, neighborhood connectivity, water-wise landscaping, and LEED. The open houses will be held in Clinton, Farmington, and Bountiful.

West Valley City

Sustainability Workshop
October 9

West Valley City is holding a sustainability workshop in conjunction with the VisionWest 2030 general plan.

See the flyer for more information (pdf)

Virginia

State of Virginia

Proclamation of by Gov. Timothy Kaine

View the proclamation (pdf)

County of New Kent

Adopted a proclamation recognizing October as Community Planning Month.

View proclamation (pdf)

Gloucester County

Photo contest

Citizens are asked to submit photos of what they love most about Gloucester County and what should be preserved for the future. The contest runs the month of October and winning photographs will be displayed on the cover of the county's quarterly publication The BeeHive. The top entries also will be displayed in the county's libraries.

Library Displays

Both county libraries have a planning display. The display includes books for children and adults as well as the county's current comprehensive plan and adopted amendments.

Stafford County

Photo Contest

Residents are invited to submit photos of their favorite green areas, green communities or buildings in Stafford. Photos will be displayed on the Department of Planning and Zoning's website.

City of Fairfax

Poster contest

The City of Fairfax Planning Commission conducted a Green Communities Poster contest this month at the city's two elementary schools. Science and art teachers at the schools led the project. Twenty-eight posters to illustrate some aspect of green communities were submitted to the Planning Commission, which gave five top prize awards, including a solar operated car and a windmill. All youngsters who submitted received a water-powered clock and a certificate from the Planning Commission. The top prize winning poster will be featured in the CityScene newsletter which is mailed to all residents, and the students who submitted will attend a televised Planning Commission meeting in November to receive their awards.