 VOLUME XVIII, ISSUE 5 OCTOBER 2005
|
|
|
|
THE TRAGEDY OF HURRICANE KATRINA, RESPONSE TO A MAJOR U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION, AND THE LIST GOES ON... The past few weeks have been a challenging time for our membership, both as planners and as human beings. Hurricane Katrina struck a devastating blow to many coastal areas of southeastern United States. The damage and human suffering is tragic and hard to comprehend. It is even harder for those with family or friends directly impacted by the hurricane's aftermath. Government at all levels failed to adequately deal with this natural disaster, both before and after Katrina did its damage. A lot has been said and written about this tragic situation. To me, there are two basic questions that each of us should ask ourselves:
1. What should we do to better prepare for natural disasters?
While we don't need to worry about hurricanes in Washington State, there are many other types of natural disasters that could strike us. In the event of an earthquake or tsunami, we will likely have little or no warning before they occur. Emergency preparedness will hopefully be emphasized more in the months and years ahead, from the federal level down to the individual household level. In addition, we need to engage in a serious dialogue, both nationally and locally, about whether it is appropriate to allow development in high risk areas. If it is deemed appropriate, there needs to be discussion about what extra construction and infrastructure requirements will be needed.
2. How may we best help the victims of Hurricane Katrina?
There are many different ways to provide assistance, both as individuals and as members of various organizations. I will be asking the WAPA Board of Directors what actions they believe our organization should take. As individuals, I would urge each of you to donate what you can to help those in need.
The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision dealing with eminent domain, Kelo v. City of New London, has focused the public's attention on the government's ability to condemn property for a legitimate public use. In summary, the Supreme Court upheld a Connecticut state law that allowed the City of New London, Connecticut to condemn an existing residential neighborhood for conversion into a mixed use development, since the proposed acquisition would be consistent with the City's urban redevelopment plan. For the most part, the reaction by the public to this decision has been negative. In fact, several States' governors and legislatures have already proposed legislation that would limit the power of eminent domain within their individual states. Unfortunately, the Kelo decision has also heightened some Washington residents' concerns about government's eminent domain powers, even though the Washington State Constitution does not allow condemnation for a purely economic development purpose. It will be important for planners to understand this important difference between Washington State and other states' eminent domain powers, and communicate it effectively to our citizens.
I am happy to announce that WAPA has a new lobbyist, Michael Shaw of Shaw Government Relations. Michael has many years of experience and an excellent reputation in Olympia. I look forward to having him work as soon as possible with the Legislative Committee to prepare for the upcoming 2006 legislative session. Thanks go out to Ivan Miller, Legislative Co-Chair, and Michael McCormick for serving with me on the Selection Committee.
Speaking of legislative matters, Governor Christine Gregoire and her senior staff have been busy working on several major initiatives dealing with land use and GMA issues. These initiatives will be unveiled in late September, in time for three gubernatorial work sessions scheduled for October 3, 4 and 5. These work sessions are intended to provide input into how these initiatives should be modified and converted into proposed legislation during the rest of this Fall. The good news is that WAPA has been invited to the table to be directly involved in the process of helping to shape the final version of the upcoming proposed legislation. There will be more details forthcoming.
Just another reminder about our Annual Fall Conference, which is scheduled for October 31 - November 2, 2005, at Meydenbauer Convention Center, Bellevue. As is evident from the conference brochure that was mailed to you, this year's conference will be a spectacular one. The conference sessions look very interesting, there are several enticing mobile workshops, and the keynote speakers should prove to be both thought-provoking and entertaining. I hope to see you there!
THE TYRANNY OF THE (URBAN) MAJORITY JUNE 12, 2005 - I recently attended a public meeting where an elected official asked a group of planners the rhetorical question, "What is sprawl?" One planner's response was that sprawl occurred when the rural area was divided into large-acreage lots in order to build "McMansions." The official's response was, "Would you be happier if people located low-income trailers there instead?"
This dialogue troubled me. For the advocates of recent planning trends—such as smart growth and New Urbanism—to attract financial supporters and sympathetic voters, they use pejorative labels like sprawl, big-box, and McMansion. In order to demonize sprawl you need a demon. Rural farmers and foresters can't be vilified because planners are supposedly conserving resource lands for their use. And it's politically incorrect to malign lower-income families living in trailers. So who do special-interest groups scapegoat? Rich people and McDonald's are easy targets-thus: Rich people + McDonald's = McMansion.
This Orwellian doublespeak has been used by proponents to subliminally sell a political agenda that attacks a longstanding American institution: the land-settlement patterns of a culture dominated by automobiles and low-cost postwar subdivision housing. Their social agenda exploits fear and classism to advance their cause—at the expense of someone else's socioeconomic beliefs and well-being.
Schizophrenic prejudice
In America, terms like sprawl and McMansion resonate with us at least in part because of our schizophrenic personal prejudices: We want to be rich but can't be because we can't stop buying stuff; we smoke and drink and eat junk food, but we know it's bad for us. We feel guilty about our shameless, obsessive consumerism. We feel helpless and used by the fat cats on Wall Street and Madison Avenue. And we feel like we've sold our souls (and our freedom) to the highest bidder.
Conversely, we suspect that there are people who have not sold their souls, and that bothers us, too. Among them are independent farmers and foresters who are living off the land. And city-dwellers subconsciously resent their apparent freedom.
In fact, this lack of empathy has led to a new "tyranny of the majority" by nonrural interests. And our constitutional checks and balances have failed to protect the rural landowner. Initiatives related to smart growth have drawn urban-growth boundaries and then downzoned rural properties. These measures are meant to contain sprawl, we've been told, but they also help create urban "reservations" that keep dense populations from destroying the natural environment.
Gluttony and reparations
When urbanites—no, urbanists—clash with rural landowners, the outcome is always the same: The country folks lose. Back at home, the urbanists want their espresso bars, boutiques, and drive-throughs, but they want rural areas to remain a pastoral land museum, preserved for their visits by SUV.
The fact is that urbanists are implicated in the killing of many more species than their rural counterparts through their gluttony. Since 80 percent of Americans live in metropolitan areas, aren't they at least 80 percent guilty? Shouldn't urbanists make this economic injustice right, and pay for it in dollars? Yes, because others—specifically, rural landowners, developers, and big businesses—must pay for their unconscionable urban appetites.
If we truly are seeking to improve livability for both humanity and animals, then let us do so by being intellectually honest about the social costs to all citizens—not by using some biased, urbanist propaganda against a minority of our citizens. It's time for the urban majority to pay its fair share—or at least talk about how to make economic reparations to rural America.
Richard Carson, a land-use planner and journalist, lives near Portland, Oregon, on 21 acres in a "forest" zoning district.
NOW AVAILABLE AT OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
It can be a challenge for working professionals to find the time to take graduate courses in planning. To help solve this problem, the Ohio State University is now offering a series of on-line courses designed for the working professional. The on-line graduate certificate program in Facilities Planning and Management offers working professionals an opportunity to expand their education from the convenience of your home or office.
Four courses will be offered between January and December 2006. Each ten-week course is taught at a graduate level by a faculty member at Ohio State University. Students can participate at their convenience each week from any computer with an Internet connection.
There are no scheduled class meetings. Participants view audio/video lectures, discuss issues, work on projects, take examinations, and consult with faculty. The courses include hands-on experience that includes case studies, team work, and in-depth projects. All courses are available for transfer to other universities toward a graduate degree.
The following courses are scheduled to begin in 2006:
Participants can choose to take one or all of the courses. Upon completion of all four courses, participants receive a Certificate in Facilities Planning and Management from the Ohio State University.
Each course costs $1,100 or the certificate program may be paid up front for a discounted rate of $4,000. Registration for the January start date is available through November 1, 2005.
To learn more visit http://knowlton.osu.edu/ped or contact:
Jack Nasar, PhD, AICP
ARE YOU READY TO TAKE THE AICP EXAM? September 15, 2005 Registration Deadline for the November, 2005 AICP Exam Just Around The Corner
Beginning in 2004, the AICP exam moved to a computer-based format (CBT) after 25 years of the traditional pen-and-paper exam. The exam will be given at over 200 testing sites in the U.S. and Canada, and offered twice a year in two testing windows for 12 days each in May and November (November 7-19, 2005).
How, When To Register?
Beginning with the 2005 exam cycle, AICP has introduced a new application that combines the application and registration steps into one form and one fee. This eliminates the previous two forms and separate fee payments, and makes the process easier for applicants. Education and employment verifications for each degree and job listed in the application will continue to be required in order for your application to be considered complete for review.
AICP is now accepting applications for the November 2005 exam with a September 15, 2005 deadline.
You can now register to take the exam online on the APA's website: http://www.planning.org/certification/
Do You Qualify?
In order to take the exam, applicants must meet the following requirements:
Preparing for the Exam
There are a variety of ways to prepare for the exam:
Seminars
CPC Study Manual for the AICP Exam
More information on the CPC Study Manual: http://www.planning.org/certification/studymanual.htm
Online Courses
More information about Planetizen's AICP Exam Online Preparation Course: http://www.planetizen.com/courses/aicp/
Study Groups
What's on the Exam?
The AICP Comprehensive Planning Examination consists of 170 multiple choice questions (20 of which are pre-test and do not count toward the final score) in two main areas: Knowledge (40 percent) and Skills (60 percent). The exam is weighted as follows:
More details: http://www.planning.org/certification/subjectmatter.html
About the Authors
Jennifer Evans-Cowley, PhD, AICP has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners for the last six years and is an Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning at the Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture at The Ohio State University. Dr. Evans-Cowley regularly teaches courses to prepare candidates to take the AICP exam and serves as the professional development officer for the Ohio Chapter of the American Planning Association. Dr. Evans-Cowley is the instructor of Planetizen's AICP Exam Online Preparation Course.
Chris Steins, M.Pl., is co-editor of Planetizen (www.planetizen.com), and CEO of Urban Insight, a Los Angeles-based web development firm focused on providing technology services to the urban planning community. Chris Steins is the former Chair of the APA's Information Technology Division, and former technology coordinator for the APA's Los Angeles Section. He is the technology coordinator for the Planetizen AICP Exam Online Preparation Course. AICP is a registered trademark of the American Planning Association (APA) and the APA's institute. Neither APA nor AICP are affiliated with the authors of this article in any way, except as stated.
SOUTHWEST SECTION
Clark County prevailed in two appeals to the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board. Futurewise (formerly 1000 Friends of Washington) and the Clark County Natural Resources Council both challenged the September 2004 comprehensive plan. Clark County is now in the process of revising its comprehensive plan and expects to adopt the new plan in September 2006. The Section hosted a pizza lunch for local planners in conjunction with the CTED Planners' Forum on August 4th in Vancouver. The Section also held an after hours social event at the new Hilton Hotel in downtown Vancouver.
Monthly Newsletter
Planning Northwest is going to become a monthly newsletter soon, so submit your article today. Planning Northwest is always looking to highlight projects and research of our members. If you are interesting in having an article published feel free to submit your article. Upcoming issues will focus on tribal planning, emergency management/planning, annexations, state legislative agenda, and transportation.
The deadline for the newsletter is the first of every month. Please submit all newsletter articles to Angela Brooks, AICP at angela.brooks@seattle.gov.
REMINDER
Last year the board approved a new chapter-only group membership opportunity.
This membership is available to planning commissions, city councils and commissions, tribal councils, and board members of non-profit organizations and other professional associations.
Up to 10 members may be included in a group membership. The group rate if $150 and is administered by the chapter office.
To obtain a group membership form or learn more about the benefits of this membership, contact Anna Nelson, AICP, Membership Committee chair, at (206) 382-9540 or anelson@buckgordon.com.
FALL '05 BROWN BAG SERIES OF CONTINUING EDUCATION
Come to the FREE session you need to do your job better! RSVP with Steve Ladd, ladds@ci.bonney-lake.wa.us, (253) 447-4350.
The first 20 attendees can buy a nice APA-subsidized lunch for only $2.00.
Topic Time Place Great speakers! City Redevelopment & Transit Connectivity City Redevelopment & Transit Connectivity
Kent Station is a 470,000 square-foot project, Phase I of which (entertainment, retail, restaurant, etc.) is nearly complete. Come see it! Burien Town Square is a revitalization with an interesting cast of venture partners. Each is capitalizing on transit to spur about $100 million in investment. Learn how.
Noon to 1:15, Wed., Oct. 19 Kent City Hall, Council Chambers, 220 Fourth Ave S Scott Kirkpatrick, Sound Transit Fixing the Condo Liability Problem Urban areas need condos for dense, reasonably-priced housing . But RCW 64.34, in protecting buyers against defects, caused lawsuits which drove insurers away. Legislative fixes haven't worked. Find out where the problem sits and the next step in solving it.
Noon to 1:15, Wed., Oct. 26 Master Builders Assoc. offices 335 116th Ave SE, Bellevue Scott Hildebrandt, Master Builders of King & Snohomish Counties Preserving Steep Slopes as Open Space As view lots soar in price, geo-technical solutions for steep sites become feasible. "Open space corridors within and between urban growth areas" disappear (see RCW 36.70A.160). Learn how zoning, PDR, and other tools can supplement CAOs to preserve them. Noon to 1:15, Wed., Nov. 16 Renton City Hall, 7th floor, Mayor's Conference Center Bruce Stoker Earth Systems Steinbrueck on the Future of Downtown Seattle Mayor Nickels has proposed sweeping changes that would allow substantially larger buildings Downtown. Eight-year council veteran and past council president Peter Steinbrueck will discuss the changes, how to strengthen them, and what more needs to be done to enhance livability. Q&A too! Noon to 1:15, Wed., Nov. 30 Room L280, Level 2 of City Hall, 600 Fourth Ave, Seattle Peter Steinbrueck Tree Retention An expansion on a successful summer event, this half-day brown bag will teach how to balance development against tree retention, both in long- range planning (policies and ordinances) and administration. Learn tree retention, replacement plantings, and urban forestry from experienced professionals. See below. 1:00 to 5:00, Wed., Dec. 7 Mercer Island City Council Chambers, City Hall, 9611 Se 36th St See below A half-day APA Brown Bag featuring case studies from Seattle-area planners, arborists, landscape architects, and developers Time
Place
Speakers
Program 1:00 - 1:45 Seattle's Long Range Tree Vision (seeing the forest for the trees)
3:30 - 5.00 Q&A, audience participation Course Book Available
RECAPS OF THE SUMMER '05 APA BROWN BAGS The Cascade Land Conservancy's 100-Year Regional Land Use Plan 7/20/05 The Cascade Land Conservancy (CLC) has saved over 100,000 acres of land in King, Snohomish, Pierce, and Kittitas Counties. To guide and leverage their efforts, they have published The Cascade Agenda, 100 Years Forward. The CLC established a coalition that ultimately asked 4,000 people what the region's LONG-range future should be while the region doubles in population. To save working forests as a going industry, 95% of the remaining acreage must be conserved. 85% of our farms must be saved for any meaningful farm industry. They mapped the growth in an "existing trends" layout, which would extend urban growth to the foothills, and a denser pattern which would save rural lands. In addition to market-based outright purchase, we will need to use transfer of development rights, purchase of development rights, and watershed planning. New destination parks must be created. Farmers and small foresters will have to be assisted, and the cities must be kept attractive if developmental pressure in rural and resource areas is to be kept at bay. We need to save an additional 1.3 million acres at a cost of about $7 billion. The current annual conservation spending rate would have to double. The four past or present chapter or section presidents in attendance gave CLC Chairman John Howell and Vice President Michelle Connor an enthusiastic hearing, and promised APA involvement. See www.cascadeagenda.com. Innovative Residential Design Standards 7/27/05 What is the full range of housing types suitable for your urban area, and how should each function? That was the scope of MAKERS' contract with Bellingham as explained by Bob Bengford. First they mapped out the City's many plans, ordinances, and guidelines affecting residential form. Then they sketched typical lay-outs for single-family residences (SFRs), cottage, townhouse, three-over-one, five-over-one, etc. Each has its issues. They used maximum floor area ratios to prevent over-sized SFRs, and reduced front-yard setbacks for the non-garage part of the house to prevent "snouts." For duplexes they suggested "tandem homes:" two on one lot, connected by garages between. For cottages the key is to allow them in SFR areas but with twice the density and twice the amenity. Townhomes need a maximum length in a row, such as eight units., and some greenery in front, even if it's only 200 square feet per unit. For apartments, they recommended higher density allowance for studios than for 3-bedrooms. Density bonuses are allowed for in-structure or under-structure parking. Many cities area adopting administrative design review because they can't find enough qualified citizens to man the design review boards. MAKERS' report is lushly illustrated, comprehensive, and vetted by the Building Industry Association of Whatcom County and the local architects and designers. Urban Design: from Theory to Regulation 8/3/05 The brown bag program celebrates us, some amazing people, if we say so ourselves. Case in point: Ron Turner, East Coast architect, urban designer, planner, and lecturer, now transplanted here. Among Ron's reminiscences was a long stint of helping a bank build new branches across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He often confronted design standards based on faux this, orthodox that. A product of the Bauhaus movement, he bristled under the repression of creative talent. "Stable " means "dead." "Chaotic" means "vital." Paradigms have shifted from the technocracy of the 20s and 30s, to the engineering solutions of the post-war era, to the process orientation of the latter 20th century, to the neo-urbanism symbolized by front porches that people don't sit on because they're too busy surfing the web. Disciplines have specialized. That of urban design is still vague, occupying the gap between architecture and planning, small scale and large. Urban design regulations are a growing morass. Ron recommends basing codes more on the form (number of stories, relationship to the street, etc.) rather than building shape or land use. Ron's rambles ended on the very human note of a life-long designer still in love with his calling. Two New Tools for Proactive Housing 8/10/05 Michael Luis calls his new showcase of innovative housing therightsizehome.org. Its subjects are little-known projects undertaken with no thought of fame. None are radical. But, through creative use of precious interior and exterior space, they meet GMA density and infill goals while making developers money. The projects are arranged by type (cottages, small-lot development, etc.), as is MAKERS's "Innovative Residential Design Study." Townhouses are now the standard entry-level home. The promise of condos is still clouded by the liability issue. Look up therightsizehome.org for good examples and economic data on the housing types that will shelter our citizens in the years to come. The other tool is Michael's housing plan feasibility indicator. A common adaptation to the GMA has been plans for high-density downtown housing. Most have not yet born fruit. How can you tell whether such concepts will succeed? Michael has collaborated with developer Kevin Grossman to provide an answer. Just get his "software" (a glorified excel spreadsheet), feed in variables affecting cost and revenue, and see if it yields the demanded 20% return. The program incorporates such knowledge as the cost of structured parking ($30,000 per space), and reveals key thresholds. On a typical site, rents above $0.95 per square foot per month will support apartments with surface parking. Only rents above $1.60 per square foot per month will support underground parking. The price of land is less important than the projected rents or sales price. Michael wants to be proven wrong, but he suspects most cities' urban center housing plans are based on pipedreams. Call him to find out. Tree Retention 8/17/05 Dan Penrose of the City of Lakewood discussed their adopted Tree Preservation Ordinance which regulates the removal of significant trees and provides incentives to preserve trees that, because of their size, species or location, provide special benefits. A significant tree is defined as an existing tree which is a minimum of 9" caliper (or 6" for Garry Oaks) and is determined to be significant by the Community Development Director due to the uniqueness of the species or the provision of important wildlife habitat. The ordinance also addresses standards for tree replacement, which is at a ratio of 2:1 of the total diameter inches of all trees removed. Lakewood provides the option of payment in lieu. Dan addressed the challenges he has had in creating and implementing the tree retention ordinance. These challenges include:
Scott Baker, Arborist with Tree Solutions Inc., showed examples of successful and unsuccessful tree preservation efforts in recent development projects, and provided several important insights. Scott expressed that it is important to consider the ways development changes a tree's environment to determine whether that tree is likely to survive. Such things as soil removal, compaction, and pollution contribute to a tree's long term potential for success. Tree protection is not always done properly, and mature trees are more difficult to protect. The fibers on the roots are most important to protect, and often times it is difficult to discern exactly how far the roots spread. In order to assure that a tree can absolutely be preserved, one would need to carefully hand dig the roots in a manner that is being done at Seattle Center for significant trees. At a minimum, a tree should be protected by a hard edged barrier that would "scratch the paint" of equipment that gets too close. Often times trees that have been growing in the wild are tall and skinny. Attempting to preserve too narrow of an area of these trees, such as a 20' strip, is not usually successful. For more information, Scott recommended consulting the web site: treesaregood.com.  |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|