Plan and Policy Development

Question 1

Visioning

Answer 1

• citizens attend series of meetings and offer input on how community could be in the future
• purpose: build consensus
• early in planning process
• 20 to 30 year time horizon typically

• focus on what community wants to be rather than existing conditions
• vision statement, which is then broken into themes representing the consensus of community goals for the future
• kick off comp plan or stand-alone process

Question 2

What are the main ingredients of a vision statement?

Answer 2

• positive, present tense language
• emphasis on the region’s uniqueness
• inclusiveness of the region’s diverse population
• depiction of the highest standards of excellence and achievement
• focus on people and quality of life
• stated time period

Question 3

What are the advantages of a vision statement?

Answer 3

• serves as a catalyst, brings residents together, inspires
• creates excitement about planning
• keeps the process on track; citizens make sure process focused on achieving vision
• keeps implementation moving forward; citizens motivated to keep track of progress

Question 4

What are the disadvantages of a vision statement?

Answer 4

• adds to cost of planning process; intensive participation
• creates unrealistic expectations that the government can’t fulfill
• dependent on facilitator

Question 5

Home Rule

Answer 5

cities, municipalities, and/or counties have the ability to pass laws to govern themself as they see fit, unless expressly prohibited by state law

Question 6

Dillon’s Rule

Answer 6

cities, towns, and/or counties have no powers other than those assigned to them by state governments

Question 7

What are the types of local governments?

Answer 7

• general purpose
• single-purpose
• special districts
• area wide planning organizations
• regional planning agency

Question 8

what is a general-purpose local government?

Answer 8

counties, cities, townships, etc

Question 9

What are single purpose local governments?

Answer 9

school districts, fire districts, etc.

Question 10

what are special districts?

Answer 10

• independent unit of local government
• often created by referendum
• perform government functions in a specific geographic area
• usually have power to incur debt and levy taxes

Question 11

What are area wide planning organizations?

Answer 11

• provide grants and planning assistance
• coordinate intergovernmental activities
• they are not a separate layer of government

Question 12

What is a regional planning agency?

Answer 12

• develops regional plans
• reviews regional impacts and projects
• in some cases a local government may transfer some local government powers to a regional agency, but not common

Question 13

Preemption

Answer 13

• when the law of a higher level of government limits or eliminates the power of a lower level government

Examples: federal fair housing act of 1968 preempts discriminatory local laws; statewide prohibitions of inclusionary zoning

Question 14

Tribal sovereignty

Answer 14

• tribal governments recognized as sovereign nations in the US constitution
• tribes are their own source of power
• tribes possess the right to make their own laws and be ruled by them
• federal laws can impact lands under a tribe’s jurisdiction, such as environmental laws affecting their waterways
• memorandum of agreement or understanding can build relationships between tribes and local and state governments

Question 15

Policy assessments

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Policy Evaluations

Answer 16

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

Question 17

fiscal impact analysis

Answer 17

• estimate the impact of a development, land use change, or plan on the costs and revenues for governmental units serving the development
• looks at: property tax rate, average cost of educating child in school system, average cost per square foot of constructing a public building

Question 18

cost-benefit analysis

Answer 18

• quantified comparison of costs and benefits
• actual and hidden costs of proposed project measured against the benefits to be received from the project
• typically in monetary or numerical terms

Question 19

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

NEPA

Answer 19

• resulted in creation of Council on Environmental Quality
• requires consideration of environmental impacts of a project
• Requires an environmental assessment
• requires environmental impact statement when necessary

Question 20

Environmental assessment

Answer 20

• determines whether there is a sigificant environmental impact of a future project
• if there will be a significant impact, an environmental impact statement is required

required by National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

Question 21

Environmental Impact Statement

EIS

Answer 21

• required for federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment
• scoping required in early stages which engages the public, explaining the project and discussion of concerns

Question 22

What are the four typical sections of an Environmental Impact
Statement?

Answer 22

• Introduction - includes statement of the Purpose and Need of the Proposed Action
• Description of the Affected Environment
• Range of Alternatives
• Analysis of the environmental impacts of each possible alternative

Question 23

What topics must an Environmental Impact Statement address?

Answer 23

• 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 irreversable and irretrievable commitments of resources that would be involved in the proposed action

Question 24

Scoping

Answer 24

• the process used to determine the appropriate contents of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
• public participation is integral - residents of the area, public agencies, experts, etc.
• identify specific elements of the environment that might be affected if the proposal is carried out - these will then be explored in more detail in the EIS

• often first contact between proponents of a proposal and the public
• participants respond with concerns about significant issues and suggestions of alternatives
• EIS will include a reflection, or a least acknowledgement, of the cooperating agencies’ and the public’s concerns

Question 25

Negotiation

Answer 25

• discussion to reach an agreement
• typically results in memorandum of agreement
• generally not legally binding

Question 26

Mediation

Answer 26

• involvement of a neutral, trained third party to find a solution to a contentious issue
• starts with everyone agreeing to a set of ground rules
• mediator guides conversation
• non-binding
• most appropriate when maintaining ongoing relationships is important, emotions are high, issues are complex and often not stated explicitly, and novel solutions (as permitted by law) are useful

Question 27

Arbitration

Answer 27

• third party determines a resolution (or “award”)
• legally binding

Question 28

Social Justice

Answer 28

• equal access to wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society
• people being able to realize their potential in the communities in which they live

Question 29

Spatial justice

Answer 29

how our cities are organized has a significant bearing on whether people have access to what they need