Practice Questions Flashcards
Your firm is developing a residential site plan and the client requests that you not map the wetlands that occur onsite. Your response:
A. To decline the consulting assignment, unless you’re allowed to map on the onsite wetlands
B. To disclose the wetlands after approval
C. To discuss the issue with a reporter
D. Discuss the issue with colleague in the planning office
A. - Your responsibility is to “provide adequate, timely, clear and accurate information on planning issues” and even as a private consultant that includes depicting the accurate location of onsite wetlands in the site plan documents.
Which of the following aspirational principles of the Code would benefit from the use of social media?
I. Increase public understanding of planning activities.
II. Educate and seek to empower the public about planning issues.
III. Promote local legislation to mandate community based planning.
IV. Provide timely, adequate, clear, accessible and accurate information on planning issues.
A - All but III are aspirational principles in the code and would clearly benefit from social media efforts by planners.
You are about to present to the Planning Commission your findings about whether to construct bus stop shelters along Main Street. During your presentation a Commission member asks if you were able to involve local groups that deal with homeless, shoppers that shop the street on weekends, and persons that were physically challenged. You did not meet or notify these groups because they did not have any formal
organization. Which of the following is the BEST option for you?
A) Because you contacted the formally organized groups you have fulfilled your obligations and should move forward with the recommendation.
B) You sent out letters to properties within 250’ of Main Street, this should satisfy the Commission members question.
C) You should attempt to meet with all groups that could be affected by the decision, and you should try and involve the shoppers. This could be achieved by doing an on-street survey.
D) You should try and involve only those informal groups that show up to a meeting on a weekday night at the Council Chambers.
C - The Planning Commission asked a good question and you should involve as many people and as a diverse group of people when making a planning recommendation.
A consulting planner offers to prepare an appeal of a zoning board of appeals denial of her client’s variance request. The planner is not licensed to practice law. Which of the following choices apply?
A) Definitely violates the AICP Code of Ethics
B) Possibly violates the AICP Code of Ethics
C) Does not violate the AICP Code of Ethics Conduct
D) Insufficient information to respond
C - The Code prohibits planners from performing work beyond their professional competence (practice law) but the consultant is merely offering to help prepare the appeal not file it or attempt to argue before the court.
The principal of a one-man consulting firm has been asked to submit a proposal to assist the development service staff of a rural city with the preparation of a new Community Plan. The planning consultant is currently overbooked with projects and does not know how he will handle the additional work if he is selected. He is concerned that he may be unable to carry out his responsibilities on time and worries about the quality of work he would produce in-between other contractual obligations. The contract is eventually awarded to his firm. Which of the following is the best course of action for the consultant?
A) Agree to execute the work assuming that his schedule will look better next month when several projects are scheduled to be completed.
B) Hire a temporary assistant to work on existing projects to free up time to take on the new assignment.
C) Determine that he cannot provide diligent service to any of his clients if he assumes more work and respectfully refuse the offer.
D) Ask the planning director if the project can wait until he has time to work on it
C - Although the consultant may be able to temporarily employ an assistant, it is not reasonable to expect a client to accept the late entry of a new person. The consultant should not expect a project to be delayed while he/she finished other projects. if the consultant cannot perform the work the contract must be turned down.
A MPO has prepared an update to the region’s long-range plan. A City planner notifies his supervisor, the Planning Director, that he plans to publicly speak as an individual against the update at the upcoming public hearing, but she refuses to allow the planner to express public opposition to the plan update and threatens to fire the planner. What should he do?
A) Agree to not attend the public hearing
B) Write up his intended comments and have another individual present them at the public hearing
C) Prepare to speak and lodge a complaint against the Planning Director
D) Say and do nothing more
C - The planner should have the right to speak publicly as a private individual on any public policy matter, and the Planning Director does not have the authority to prevent him.
The planning director is asked to play in a charity golf tournament sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce. The director should:
A. Decline the invitation
B. Ask the mayor for permission to play
C. Accept the invitation
D. Discuss the situation with the AICP Ethics officer
C - The event is for charity which does not present a conflict of interest. If the director was to accept a private invitation from a specific business leader then it would represent a conflict of interest.
You are a Planner I who prepares staff reports on rezoning proposals. A new upscale retail rezoning proposal touches on a family member’s property. What should you do?
A. Disclose to your supervisor
B. Ask the Director for verbal permission
C. Recuse yourself
D. Detail the situation in writing and proceed only after receiving written permission to do so from the Planning Director
D - the code requires that we should not perform work on a project when there is a possibility for direct personal or financial gain to us, our family member, or persons living in our household, unless: a) our client or employer, after full prior written disclosure from us, consents in writing to the arrangement; and b) we make full disclosure of the potential conflict part on the public record at every public meeting and in all written reports related to the work.
The owner of a restaurant contacted the director at her office and invited her to lunch. At lunch he asked the director to allow sidewalk table service for his business, which is prohibited by ordinance, arguing that this would help revitalize the downtown. How should the director respond?
(A) Grant him ministerial approval.
(B) Advise him that outside service is prohibited.
(C) Tell him that sidewalk service is not currently allowed, and then outline the process to seek an ordinance amendment.
(D) Leave immediately to avoid any appearance of an ethics
violation.
C - It is presumed the director is paying for her own lunch and it is acceptable to have lunch with the owner and describe the current ordinance restrictions and the process to propose an ordinance amendment
You are a planner in Naperville, Illinois. You would like to take a part-time job in the evenings working as a bartender. According to the APA Code of Ethics, which of the following is the BEST course of action for you to take?
A) You do not have to tell your planning boss, just start doing the
part-time work
B) You need to have written permission from your planning boss
C) You should ask for verbal permission from your planning boss
D) As long as the part-time work is outside of Naperville’s planning jurisdiction you do not have to ask for permission
A - Employment is not related to the planning field according to the rule of conduct #18.
Which of the following is true about “moonlighting”?
I. Moonlighting violates the AICP Code of Ethics
II. Service as a teacher or instructor is outside employment that is most justifiable
III. Outside employment need not receive the approval of the employer
IV. An unspecialized, general consulting practice is the least justifiable.
(A) I and II
(B) II and III
(C) II and IV
(D) I, II and IV
C - Teaching planning (pro-bono or not) is the most justifiable type of outside employment as it is unlikely to result in a conflict of interest. Likewise, unspecialized, general consulting practice is the least justifiable type of employment as it can easily involve multiple avenues for a conflict.
As the senior planner in the town’s planning department, James
argued successfully against any further nonresidential
development within the town’s recharge areas to its public
wellfields. Five years later, as a consultant to a national shopping mall developer, James is aggressively pursuing a rezoning of 1,000 acres of land within the town’s public water supply recharge areas. Which of the following choices apply?
A) Definitely violates the AICP Code of Ethics
B) Possibly violates the AICP Code of Ethics
C) Does not violate the AICP Code of Ethics
D) Insufficient information to respond
C - a switch in his position does not violate the AICP Code, as this change in position is occurring beyond the three year timeframe imposed under Rule 19
A planner has been asked by a private consultant to
work for them and provide an opinion on a development
that the planner previously oversaw last year from the
public perspective. What is one thing the planner must
do?
A) Decline the consulting assignment
B) Provide written disclosure of the conflict to their previous
and current client or employer
C) Publish a statement of intent in the local newspaper
D) Discuss the issue with colleagues in the planning office
B - Rule 19 requires this as the 2nd of two steps in order to be ethically responsible to your employer in this circumstance. the 1st step consists of a good faith effort to ensure that any change of position on the project will not cause a detriment to your previous client or employer.
To comply with an AICP’s obligation to the public
interest, Certified Planners aspire to all of the following principles except:
(A) He/she shall always be conscious of the rights of
others.
(B) He/she shall have special concern for the long-range
consequences of past and present actions.
(C) He/she shall not accept work for a fee, or pro bono, that we know cannot be performed with the promptness required.
(D) He/she shall pay special attention to the inter-relatedness of decisions and their unintended
consequences.
C - He/she shall not accept work for a fee, or pro bono, that we know cannot be performed with the promptness required. This is rule of conduct #4.
Which of the following is not an AICP Ethics Code Rule
of Conduct that an AICP planner can be sanctioned for
violating?
(A) He/she shall not direct or pressure other professionals
to make analyses or reach findings not supported by
available evidence.
(B) He/she shall not let any official action be influenced by
personal relationships.
(C) He/she shall not fail to disclose the interests of our
client or employer when participating in the planning
process.
(D) He/she shall not commit or ignore an act of
discrimination or harassment
B - It is an aspirational principle that addresses safeguarding the public trust.
