 VOLUME XX, ISSUE 3 MARCH 2007
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SPRING IS IN THE AIR, AS ARE LEGISLATIVE BILLS AND AICP CERTIFICATION MAINTENANCE PROPOSALS
The Chapter's Legislative Committee has been hard at work. After a slow start early in the legislative session, several planning and GMA-related bills have been proposed and are currently under consideration by the State Legislature. As in the past, WA-APA's Legislative Committee is busy reviewing bills and trying to work with other groups to find reasonable legislative solutions. My thanks go out to Committee Co-Chairs Esther Larsen and Josh Peters for their leadership. A second draft of the AICP Certification Maintenance proposal is now out for review and comment; it may be found at www.planning.org/certification/maintenance.htm. As many of you know, the first proposal was fairly controversial and generated a lot of discussion. The WA-APA Board of Directors is in the midst of preparing a comment letter that will represent the Board's views (and not necessarily those of our members) on the latest proposal. It is likely that the AICP Commission will take action on a final certification maintenance program at this year's National Conference in Philadelphia. So, I would urge all AICP members in Washington State to send your comments to AICP-CM@planning.org by the deadline of Wednesday, March 21, 2007. Speaking of the National Conference, the Chapter is organizing an informal social event for Washington State planners in Philadelphia during the evening of Monday, April 16. An invitation will be sent out via the Chapter's listserv, once the details have been finalized. I am happy to report that the WA-APA Board of Directors, at its March 6 meeting, voted to create a Tribal Planning Committee, which will help our Chapter to better serve this segment of our membership. The Board also acted to create an interim "Columbia" District, which is a major step towards the formation of an official "Columbia" Section. This new Section would encompass the central part of the State, and join the existing Inland Empire, Northwest, Peninsula, Puget Sound, and Southwest Sections. Stay tuned. Please mark your calendar now for the Joint Oregon/Washington Chapters’ 2007 Fall Conference, which will take place during October 3 - 5, 2006 in Tacoma. I want to express my appreciation to Peter Huffman for agreeing to be Washington’s Conference Co-Chair, to Linda Bentley for serving as Washington’s Program Committee Co-Chair, and to Joe Scorcio for taking charge as the Local Host Committee Chair. This will be a great conference that is not to be missed! That’s it for now. Keep on planning! 
2007 APA/PAW JOINT AWARDS PROGRAM
The 2007 APA/PAW Joint Award Program Announcement will arrive to members via e-mail and U.S. mail within the next month. If you have been involved in a great project, please consider applying. The deadline for submittals is in July. Awards will be announced at the 2007 Joint Conference of the Washington and Oregon Chapters of the APA to be held October 3-5, 2007, at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center in Tacoma, Washington. For the past 21 years, the Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) and the Planning Association of Washington (PAW) have jointly sponsored the annual planning awards program. The goal of this program is to bring public attention and recognition to public and private sector planning efforts throughout Washington State. The program also recognizes student planning projects in university planning programs. In past years, separate award categories have included:
Over the next several issues of the newsletter, award winners from 2006 will be highlighted. The Chapter website also includes a summary of all of the award winners for the past several years. This month, we will take a closer look at the merit award winners in the Physical Plan and Implementation Plan categories. For more information on the 2007 Award program, please contact Bob Sokol, AICP at bobhsokol@earthlink.net. 2006 MERIT AWARD – PHYSICAL PLANS PORT TOWNSEND SHORELINE MASTER PROGRAM CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND, WASHINGTON Recipient of APA/PAW Joint Award: City of Port Townsend; Port of Port Townsend; Berryman & Henigar; AHBL; and Biomes In 2003, Port Townsend stepped forward to be one of the few communities recognized by the state Legislature as an “early adopter” of shoreline master programs under the state’s updated Shoreline Management Act guidelines. In that legislation, the state set a goal of adopting the first round of updated SMPs by December 2005. Port Townsend is the first community in the state to locally adopt an SMP under the new guidelines and the only early adopter to meet the December 2005 goal. The state adopted the SMP on February 14, 2007. During the SMP update, Port Townsend set new precedents for shoreline restoration plans and assessing the cumulative impacts of shoreline plans. In delineating environment designations, the Master Program aims to provide for priority uses while assuring that existing shoreline ecological functions are protected with the proposed pattern and intensity of development. To that end, eight shoreline designations were created and assigned; including two designations, “Historic Downtown” and “Point Hudson” that address the unique historic qualities of a Victorian Seaport. In addition to balancing the fundamental goals of the Act (i.e., public access, environmental protection and appropriate uses), the city also grappled with retaining its small-scale historic character and maritime heritage. The process is even more noteworthy for its collaboration between the city and the Port of Port Townsend, which is the major “implementer” of shoreline development in the downtown. In addition, the state Parks Department and Department of Transportation are major stakeholders with ownership and functional interests in the city.
2006 MERIT AWARD – IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
One of the primary tenets of growth management in the Central Puget Sound Region and Washington State is compact, mixed-use development in Urban Centers. Many of these centers, like Downtown Bellevue, are historically commercial in nature and often lack the neighborhood amenities to attract any significant residential population. Through careful planning and a range of public and private investments, Downtown Bellevue has shown that the residential component of Urban Center development can be realized. Downtown residential development really began in 1994 and now is at a critical mass that is transforming the city center. Embracing growth management, the City of Bellevue is focusing much of its future housing and employment growth into a series of downtown districts that represent only 2 percent of the City’s land area. Close to 3,000 residential units have been built during the past ten years. Now, over 2,000 units are under construction, with another 1,000 in the development pipeline. Residential structures in Downtown Bellevue range from “five over one” construction to new mixed-use point towers reminiscent of Vancouver, BC. Close to 5,000 people now call Downtown Bellevue home. By 2020, there are planned to be a total of 14,000 downtown residents and 63,000 jobs in downtown. In recent years, the push in Downtown Bellevue has been towards creating a more livable place that is enlivened by downtown residents. Downtown Bellevue can now boast significantly increased pedestrian volumes, places to socialize, an exciting nightlife, and the return of neighborhood-serving retail uses. The key to future success in Downtown Bellevue will be development of distinct downtown neighborhoods connected by a variety of unique public places and great public infrastructure. The results of the Downtown Bellevue effort shows that compact mixed-use centers with a strong residential component are a viable model for regional growth management.
JOIN THE SMALL TOWN AND RURAL PLANNING DIVISION OF APA
Every year when you get your invoice for renewing your APA membership, you are also renewing your dues for membership in your State Chapter. Down on the bottom of the invoice, you are also given the option of joining one or more of the Divisions of APA. Unlike Chapters that are geographically based, Divisions are based on some aspect of planning and are nationwide in scope. By far the most dynamic of APA’s Divisions is the Small Town and Rural (STaR) Division. STaR is dedicated to planners in small town and rural areas of the USA and Canada. While many of you could not imagine working as the only planner in your agency, many of STaR’s members are solo practitioners and are called upon by their agency’s Planning Commission and City Council to provide professional guidance on planning issues. Further, these planners typically have less experience than metropolitan-area planners. Consequently, these planners look to STaR for answers to general planning and zoning matters that come before them. Another set of planners that look to STaR for guidance are county planners. STaR is nationally known for its work in agricultural land preservation and has recognized experts in conservation subdivision among its members. Finally, many private practitioners located in metropolitan areas are STaR members due to their client base in rural areas. Planning in rural areas is quite different than what metropolitan planners experience, and the STaR connection has proved invaluable to these planners when working with small town elected officials and staff. What are the benefits of joining STaR? The following list is just a sampling:
STaR is also working on an initiative to subsidize a portion of the cost of AICP certification maintenance for those STaR AICP members whose income falls below the state median. STaR is excited about the menu of services offered to it’s over 750 members nationwide (including 23 here in Washington), and we would like you to consider joining our Division. We believe the $25.00 annual dues are returned to you and your agency several times over in service. For more information about joining STaR, contact Division Chair Dale Powers at drpowers@co.pine.mn.us or Membership Coordinator Paul Bednar at paul@paulbednar.com.
PENINSULA PLANNERS FORUM APRIL 20 The Peninsula Section of WA-APA and CTED will host a quarterly Planners Forum on Friday, April 20 at the Norm Dicks Government Center in Bremerton. The program lasts from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, followed by an optional walking tour with local planners as guides. After a roundtable update of planning projects throughout the Peninsula area, there will be updates from CTED staff, a member of the WA-APA Legislative Committee member, and a member of the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board. Specific planning topics will be the focus of the afternoon, including a presentation by City of Bremerton staff on local planning issues of regional interest. Planners from the east side of the Puget Sound and beyond are invited to participate. The Forum location is within walking distance of the ferry terminal. Look for a “Sections” link from www.washington-apa.org to view the final agenda and other information on the Peninsula Section webpage.
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 is $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.
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Have a project you want to highlight for planners across the state? An issue you think more planners need information on? Planning Northwest is always looking to highlight projects and research of our members. If you are interested in having an article published feel free to contact the editor. The deadline for the newsletter is the first of every month, preceding the publication month. Please submit all newsletter articles to newsletter@washington-apa.org. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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