Plan and Policy Development

Question 1

Steps in a Planning Process

Answer 1

1. Pre-planning
   Community Diagnosis
   Determine your community’s purpose, capacity, and readiness for planning.
   Identify key stakeholders
   Process Design
   Establish a budget for planning.
   Issue an RFP, if applicable.
   Incorporate opportunities for public participation and education.

Stage 2: Planning
Data Collection and Analysis
Assess your community’s data and information needs.
Issue Identification
Involve local decision-makers and the public in identifying key community issues, challenges, opportunities, and desires.
Identify a vision for the future development of the community.
Goal and Objective Formulation
Develop goals and measurable objectives to help attain your community’s vision.
Strategy Formulation
Identify potential plan implementation strategies to satisfy goals and objectives.
Take formal action to adopt the plan.

Stage 3: Post-Planning
Plan Implementation
Adopt a specific course of action to implement the plan.
Monitoring and Assessment
Monitor progress towards achieving stated goals, objectives, and indicators

Question 2

What is visioning?

Answer 2

Visioning is a process whereby citizens attend a series of meetings that provide an opportunity to offer input on how the community could be in the future. Planners use visioning processes to help citizens develop a conception of the future. Visioning processes focus on what the community wants to be rather than looking at existing conditions.

Purpose is to build consensus.

Visioning occurs early in the planning process. Citizens develop a vision statement, which is then broken down into themes that represent the consensus of the community’s goals for the future. A visioning plan typically has a 20- to 30-year time horizon, although it can sometimes be shorter.

expression of potential - ideal future that the community seeks to achieve

Principles - provide strategic direction

Goals - define long-term outcomes

Question 3

Home Rule

Dillion’s Rule

Answer 3

an article or amendment to the state constitution grants cities, municipalities, and/or counties the ability to pass laws to govern themselves as they see fit.

Dillon’s rule is the principle that cities, towns, and counties have no powers other than those assigned to them by state governments.

40/50 states apply dillion’s rule in some form; to determine bounds of a municpal’s govt rule of authority

Some have home rule for townships and dillion’s for cities estab. by charter

state govts grant police power to local govts that allow zoning; influence/control over local govt in terms of funding/investments; states provide more funding to cities than federal government; states do limited planning work but are involved in regional planning and transportation; Planners do not enact laws, they advise on the law. Planners do not commit public funds to projects (elected officials do)

Question 4

Types of local governments

Answer 4

General-purpose local government – counties, cities, townships, etc.

Single-purpose local government – school districts, fire districts, etc.

Special Districts – an independent unit of local government often created by referendum and organized to perform government functions in a specific geographic area. They usually have the power to incur debt and levy taxes.

Area wide planning organizations (like regional organizations) – provide grants and planning assistance, coordinate intergovernmental activities. They are not a separate layer of government.

Regional planning agency – develops regional plans and reviews regional impacts and projects. In some cases, a local government may transfer some local government powers to a regional agency, but that is not usually the case.

Mayor-Council - mayor has significant admin. budgetary authority; weak or strong mayor; council maintains legislative powers; 2nd most common type of govt; found in older, larger cities

Council-Manager - most popular local govt; city council oversees everything, general admin, sets budget, policies, and appoints manager to carry out day-to-day admin.;

COmmission - 1% not common at all; voters elect indiv. commissioners to small governing board

Town Meeting - 5%; voters decide policy and elect officials to carry out

Representative Town Meeting - voters select large groups of citizens where only they can vote at meetings; small New England areas

Question 5

Preemption

Answer 5

preemption is when the law of a higher level of government limits or even eliminates the power of a lower level of government (higher authority displaces lower authority of law).

State law supersedes local law.

Preemption is not inherently good or bad. Some of the most important laws upholding equal protection under the law have come from preemptive federal and state legislation. For example, Congress enacted the federal Fair Housing Act in 1968 for the very purpose of preempting discriminatory local laws.

Question 6

Tribal sovereignty

Answer 6

the federal government acknowledges 583 tribal governments throughout the country, all of which are recognized as sovereign nations by the U.S. Constitution.

There are several federal environmental laws that allow the EPA to treat federally recognized tribes as a state - clean air act, clean water act.
Tribes are their own source of power; are their own form of government; .
According to the 1959 case Williams v. Lee, tribes possess “the right … to make their own laws and be ruled by them.” However, a wide range of federal laws can impact lands that fall under a tribe’s jurisdiction. For example, federal environmental laws might still apply to tribal land areas or affect their waterways. State laws like Washington’s State Environmental Policy Act do not apply to reservation lands, but they still have an impact because of how they apply to nearby communities off the reservation.

Question 7

Assessments

Answer 7

analyze the intended and unintended consequences of policies, plans, programs, and projects

Question 8

Evaluations

Answer 8

examine a plan, project, or program against a set of criteria, usually to establish organizational accountability

Question 9

Fiscal Impact Analysis

Answer 9

The purpose is to estimate the impact of a development or a land use change or a plan on the costs and revenues of governmental units serving the development

A fiscal impact analysis would involve looking at

A city’s property tax rate
The average cost of educating a child in the local school system
The average cost per square foot of constructing a public building
(it would not involve historic trends in assessed valuation)

Question 10

Economic impact analysis

Answer 10

focuses on the cash flow to the private sector (measured in income, jobs, output, indirect impacts, etc.)

Question 11

Cost-benefit analysis

Answer 11

a quantified comparison of costs and benefits generally expressed in monetary or numerical terms. The actual and hidden costs of a proposed project are measured against the benefits to be recieved from the project.

Question 12

Environmental Impact Analysis

Answer 12

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) resulted in the creation of the Council on Environmental Quality. NEPA requires that the environmental impacts of a project be considered. An Environmental Assessment is required to determine whether there is a significant environmental impact. NEPA requires the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) where necessary. An EIS is required for federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. If the environmental assessment determines that there is a significant impact, then an environmental impact statement is required.

Question 13

Environmental Assessment vs Environmental Impact Statement

Answer 13

EA is required to determine whether there is a significant environmental impact. An EIS is required when necessary, and required for federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.

EA determines that there is a significant impact, then an EIS is required.

Question 14

Environmental Impact Statement Content/Sections and topics to address

Answer 14

An Environmental Impact Statement typically has four sections:

Introduction, which includes a statement of the Purpose and Need of the Proposed Action
Description of the Affected Environment
Range of Alternatives to the proposed action. Alternatives are considered the “heart” of the EIS
Analysis of the environmental impacts of each of the possible alternatives

An Environmental Impact Statement must address each of the following five topics:

The probable impact of the proposed action
Any adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided
Alternatives to the proposed action
Relationship between local short-term uses of the environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity of the land
Any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources that would be involved in the proposed action

Question 15

Mediation, Negotiation, Facilitation, Arbitration

Answer 15

All are alternatives to court action (litigation) - Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) - settle disputes without litigation

Negotiation involves discussion to reach an agreement. Usually results in a memorandum of agreement but it is generally not legally binding. Informal, flexible, low cost, no neutral 3rd party/lack of 3rd party; harder to stay on track; power imbalances; outcomes have no legal standing

Mediation involves a third party, but it is non-binding. Informal, flexible, Neutral 3rd party (mediator); mediator guides negotiation, sets ground rules, helps parties come to agreement. Does not make final decision. Doesn’t always lead to settlement

Mediation can complement public engagement methods like design charrettes.

Mediation is most appropriate when maintaining ongoing relationships is important, emotions are high, issues are complex and often not stated explicitly, and novel solutions are useful.

Mediation complements the traditional zoning process.

Mediation and facilitation can be used interchangeably but facilitation involves organizing folks around a common goal/completion of a task, rather than resolution of a conflict. Good for groups, make a joint decision. Not conflict resolution.

In arbitration, a third party determines a resolution or award which is legally binding. Formal, legally binding, win-lose statement; appeal is difficult. Arbitrator makes final decision; more costly

In both arbitration and mediation, a third party is used, but only in arbitration is a decision by the third party binding.

Question 16

Social Justice

Answer 16

Social justice might be defined as “equal access to wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society.” In planning, social justice is about people being able to realize their potential in the communities in which they live. This often invokes spatial justice: how our cities are organized has a significant bearing on whether people have access to what they need. For example, if affordable housing is located in an area with poor transportation access and few jobs, people will struggle to find and sustain employment, thus diminishing social justice.

Question 17

Preparing to plan

Question 18

The comprehensive plan - recommended reading

Answer 18

1. sustainability, resilience, and equity - needs to be at center of all decisions made
2. systems-thinking approach - described as a community is a system made up of subsystems - mobility, labor market, housing market,
3. authentic participation - true community engagement; able to answer the questions where are we headed, where do we want to go, how do we get there
4. accountable implementation - including priorities that require action, funding streams
   Traditional comprehensive plans have been criticized for not connecting goals and policies to actual implementation. An alternative is “accountable implementation,” which ties actions to timetables, activities, budgets, and agencies. Effectiveness is reported to the public, and plans are adjusted accordingly.
   Connect plan implementation to the capital planning process.
   Connect plan implementation to the annual budgeting process.
   Establish interagency and organizational cooperation.
   Identify funding sources for plan implementation.
   Establish implementation indicators, benchmarks, and targets.
   Regularly evaluate and report on implementation progress.
   Adjust the plan as necessary based on the evaluation.

Question 19

Comprehensive Planning Process

Answer 19

Scoping - success of project is dependent on having a clear and viable scope of work, well defined deliverables, key milestones, know constraints, and list exclusions

Scope creep - incremental expansion of project scope, which can negatively impact the outcome of the project

Question 20

Scenario Planning

Answer 20

Engages community members in exploring different choices for the future;
1. Normative (should be)
2. Predictive (will be)
3. Exploratory (can be)

Growth scenario is a combination of normative and predictive scenario planning.

Strategic Scenario combine exploratory and normative scenario planning. Position community to strategically adapt to changes that support vision.

Future Land Use Map - guide for future development;
conceptual growth approach - establish spatial framework to guide future development - well suited for vacant land with growth pressures eminent,
place-based approach - defines desired development based on form, character, and scale; delinate areas for different forms of development
strategy-based approach - well suited for more mature communities that may or may not be experiencing development pressures; -

Question 21

Multi-variate analysis

Answer 21

APA sees planning is characterized by sequencial steps and multi-step analysis - causality is complex

Interaction of variables - correlations btw 2 variables may be driven by another variable

Question 22

Federal, state, and local government/planning

Answer 22

Cell towers - location is determined by local government, but federal and state agencies also have regulation of cell towers in other ways

General Purpose - counties, twnships, cities
Special purpose/single purpose - schol districts, fire districts
Special DIstricts - independent unit of local govt created by referendum organized to perform govt functions in specific area - incur debt and levy taxes
REgional agencies (MPOs) can review plans and comment. Sometimes local govt can transfer power to regional agencies but don’t typically.

Question 23

Plan implementation evaluation

Answer 23

Conformance-based evaluation - Conformance-based evaluation is more literal and sees planning as having the ability to control future development. Plans are viewed as blueprints, and the more outcomes (like land use patterns) conform with plans, the more successful the plan has been. One variation is to evaluate the achievement of goals like “improve access to parks”—access might be improved overall, but not in strict accordance with a land use plan.

performance-based evaluation - Performance-based evaluation views plans as decision-making tools more in line with the incrementalism of Charles E. Lindblom. The achievement of end-state goals are not the main concern. Any result that is deemed desirable could be considered a success.

Question 24

Evaluation

Answer 24

Evaluation is the activity that developers an understanding of the merit, worth, and utility of a policy.