 VOLUME XX, ISSUE 12 DECEMBER 2007
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
As the year's end approaches, I look back to a very successful 2007 and forward to a challenging and productive 2008. This was a year of firsts and best for our Chapter. The Legislative committee of Washington APA initiated its first-ever proposed legislation (an energy bill). The fall conference in Tacoma was our Chapter’s most successful ever, in terms of attendance, offerings, and net proceeds. At the national level, the new Certification Maintenance requirement for AICP was adopted and election news out of Oregon (the passage of Measure 49) affirmed that their voters finally grasped the folly of Measure 37’s extreme approach to protecting property rights. I believe that Washington state’s success a year earlier in defeating Initiative 933 was the turning of the national tide for “Pay or waive” schemes and am gratified that our friends south of the Columbia have gained their own victory for fair and balanced planning. Coming up in 2008 we will focus on building our success in legislative, continuing education, and outreach efforts. In the January newsletter I will report on the outcomes of the December Board meeting. We will be adopting a budget targeting funding to the Chapter’s activities, programs and services to members, as well as coordinating and providing direction to the Chapter’s many committees. 2008 would be a great year for you to get involved in the work of one of the Chapter’s committees. Take a look at the list of Chapter committees, and list of chairs (with their email contacts) posted at on the chapter website, www.washington-apa.org/aWAapa/waAPAboard.shtml. The work of the committees is the lifeblood of our Chapter’s effectiveness. It’s important stuff, and fun as well. I encourage you all to get involved. Also coming in the new year will be a new Chapter logo and possible revamping of the newsletter and website. These will be our local responses to the recent “branding efforts” at the APA National level and help provide a new look and graphic identity for Washington Chapter. More to come in January. I would like to thank you all for your hard work in 2007 on behalf of our Chapter and good planning in your communities. I wish you all a joyful and prosperous 2008 and look forward to seeing and working with many of you in the coming months. 
PUGET SOUND SECTION UPDATE Our annual holiday banquet will be held on December 6 at the World Trade Center on the Seattle waterfront. If last year is any indication, there should be upwards of one hundred APA chapter members in attendance. For the first time, spouses and friends of chapter members are allowed to attend (if accompanied by a member) for a fee of $25. Several sponsors have agreed help fund the event, for a donation of $200 each. Please contact Patricia Love (425) 355-4141 ext. 226 or plove@ci.mukilteo.wa.us for more information. The section’s finances are healthy, with sufficient funds available to provide some scholarships to needy students or other chapter members to attend conferences and educational events. The section will take up this subject for further discussion in January. For more information about the Puget Sound Section, visit our webpage, www.washington-apa.org/sections/pSound.shtml.
AICP CM NEWS
Many of you may have attempted to log your AICP credits on the online system and discovered that there are no credits listed so far. Right-O! We are currently working with National to have them enter the data from the recent joint chapter conference. Evidently, this effort has taken PDOs around the country an average of 6-7 hours to input this information, and your dutiful PDO has not had the time to take this on herself. APA National will let us know when the credits are logged into the system, and I will let Chapter members know via the listserv and the chapter newsletter. Information Required for Credited Sessions
In addition, the Chapter and its sections have provided other training opportunities during the past year. We are collecting the information needed for the database for those sessions. The Chapter will have to put that information into the system (APA’s offer for help only applies to the conference). Ideally, we should be caught up by the end of the year – the online CM log is on the national website. www.planning.org/cm/foraicpmembers.htm The end result of this requirement for detailed session information is that the Chapter will have to ask for more detail in future session proposals. National has indicated that they will be developing a template of CM requirements (that will hopefully seamlessly fold information into the CM database) that could be used by Chapters in managing conference sessions. If this is true, and if it works, we will be asking those proposing sessions to front-load this information in order to make inputting of session information easier. Per Credit Cost
Next year, the cost to the Chapter and outside providers will be $50 for each hour of training credited. Collectively, we will need to evaluate how this new cost will be managed within the Chapter and section budgets. We will also have to identify how relevant, affordable training is will be made available throughout the state. PDOs, APA chapters and National are going to be wrestling with this program for a while. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know. Upcoming AICP Schedule
Chapter AICP Exam Study Session
EJISU VISIONING PROJECT
In July 2007, I traveled to Ghana to organize a community development project for the town of Ejisu, Ghana, West Africa. The Ejisu “visioning project” was developed in partnership with Planning and Land Economy Department, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association provided financial support for the project in promoting innovation and community service as well as supporting internationalism of planning. The project’s intent was to unite the people of Ejisu in identifying the common problems and opportunities that may hamper or propel Ejisu into its desired future. The community wanted to understand and explore its future with fresh eyes, and to create new energy to generate a common vision to guide potential development projects in Ejisu. The project was designed as a pilot project to provide other communities a basis to work with the university to develop their visions for future comprehensive land use and development plans. The goals and objectives of the Summer School project were to create civic engagement opportunities for practicing planners and citizens interested in equity in community development that builds on community assets and advances shared interests; and address specific community needs. The project served as a catalyst to facilitate civic engagement and community building. It placed the students into direct contact with the problems of the poor communities and prepared the students to be committed public citizens and leaders who take active roles in building stronger livable communities and societies upon graduation.
Ejisu has many great opportunities to become a great epicenter and develop into a highly attractive and livable community with a vibrant economy. Ejisu is the capital town of Ejisu-Juabeng District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The total land area of Ejisu-Juabeng District is approximately 1,000 (678 Km²) square miles with a population of approximately 130,000 people. Ejisu is bisected by the main Accra – Kumasi Highway (N6). It has railway access and an inland port linking it to all parts of Ghana. Ejisu is known for its popular “kente” cloth. It is a main access to Lake Bosumtwi, one of the world’s largest crater lakes. Due to the climate and abundant land, Ejisu-Juabeng District can support large scale agriculture. Ejisu has a local district assembly bodies elected by the people. Ghana is a country with an abundance of natural resources. Gold, timber, cocoa, diamond, manganese and oil make up the major sources of foreign exchange in Ghana. Ghana gained its independence from England in 1957, and has had a stable democracy since 1992. The larger metropolitan districts such as Accra, Ghana’s capital and Kumasi have benefited from the direct central government investments, and thus are the wealthier cities in Ghana. Ejisu, like may small towns and villages, just 12 miles to the south of Kumasi, relies on tourism and farming to sustain its economy. The dramatic disparities between metropolitan areas such as Kumasi and the poor neighboring small towns and villages are the reasons for the Community Visioning Project. Participants were invited to the community meeting through organizational meetings and public service announcements during community events such as church services, funerals, and market days. The first community meeting on July 8, 2007 attracted over fifty people including local dignitaries. The meeting started with an introductory presentation of community visioning. Project director, Kwadwo Fordjour and key invited dignitaries, including Ghanaian minister of foreign affairs who is also the parliamentary representative from Ejisu-Juabeng district made remarks in support of the project.
The KNUST students underwent intensive training and class exercises in vision development and meeting facilitation for two and half weeks to prepare them to facilitate the community visioning process. Topics presented include role of planning in community development; meeting facilitation; team chartering; conflict resolution; how to develop vision statement; and how to develop community (citizen) involvement plan. They also went on a field trip to assess current conditions of Ejisu and interviewed residents. A second community meeting on July 15, 2007 was a workshop with three focus groups of about 15 community members each. The focus groups were Social Development, Economic Development, and Environmental Protection teams. The students were paired with the three teams to facilitate the process. The third and final community meeting took place on July 22, 2007 to present the final draft vision statement to the community at large. Each focus team presented its recommendations for the future of Ejisu to the community. Issues affecting the community’s fundamental characteristics, history and values were highlighted as the foundation of the visioning. Key concepts for the foundation of the town’s future vision were defined in the workshops. They included leadership, unity and collaboration; safety and livability; historic and cultural values; economic vitality and employment; and clean and beautiful environments. The vision statement developed read as: The people of Ejisu are unified in working in collaboration with our leadership in chieftaincy and government as a model district capital. By so doing Ejisu will:
The Ejisu Visioning process has given Ejisu residents a starting point. It is a way to empower residents to be involved in the planning of their communities. Projects that have been completed, initiated or planned include:
Organizational and institutional support is needed to sustain the project. Future plans include securing funding to follow-up, and replicate the effort in other communities; make the program a permanent part of university planning education; and develop a student exchange between Ghana and USA planning students.
For additional information, a presentation to groups or a copy of complete report, contact Kojo Fordjour at (206) 234-1624 or e-mail at fordjourk@msn.com. Donations and financial support are needed for the next phase of the project and to sustain it.
PLANNING NORTHWEST FOCUS ON: BATTLE GROUND
Battle Ground is the youngest incorporated and the fastest-growing city in Clark County. In the last 10 years, the city has more than doubled in size. From its beginnings serving the dairy farms that surrounded it, Battle Ground has grown to a city of more than 16,000 serving the rapidly transforming rural areas of Clark County. Faced in the late 90s with astonishing development pressures that affected public services and the built environment, the Battle Ground City Council pursued an extensive visioning process to engage the community in determining how the city would develop over the next 50 years. The adopted 50-year vision not only addressed where the city would grow but how. Following the adoption of the 50-year vision, the city undertook a complete rewrite of its development code as a first step in the implementation of the vision. Recognizing that development under the revised code would create a lasting imprint on the community, the effort quickly became known as the legacy standards. Legacy standards
Issues
The requirement that a garage door facing the public street must be set back 5 feet from the house front has resulted in builders simply adding porches to existing plans to meet the letter of the code. These have become known as “snout porches.”
Even with these issues, Battle Ground has made significant progress in guiding the development of single-family houses. The City Council had to make tough choices in the face of significant opposition from the development community. To date, the choices have been accepted (if not embraced) by the development community and have become a countywide standard even where they are not required by code.
KIDS AND PLANNING
Did you also know that one of our Chapter's goals is to increase students' understanding of planning issues and the profession? To that end, the Chapter has formed a “Kids and Planning” Task Force, which is just beginning the process of formulating a work plan. A tentative objective of the Task Force is to establish several educational pilot projects/programs, oriented for elementary/middle/high school students, in different parts of the State during 2008. If you are interested in getting involved or want more information, please contact the Task Force Co-Chairs Steve Butler (sbutler@ci.seatac.wa.us) or Lynn Miranda (lmiranda@ci.tukwila.wa.us). BOARD AND LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS
MEMBER NEWS
Richard Carson, has retired as the director of the Clark County Community Development Department where he managed a staff of 160. Rich has been a planning manager at the city, county, regional and state level of over 30 years. He is currently working as a consultant to Citygate and Associates, in Sacramento, California, on helping government planning agencies reorganize for greater efficiencies. Rich is past-president of the Southwest Section and is a writer and lecturer. He has published over 100 essays in such major print and internet publications as Planning, Architecture, Public Management, Urban Land, Planetizen, Cyburbia, Business America, as well as Archis and Planum in Europe. Rich is currently in a doctorate program at Washington State University.
AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
For the past 22 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:
This year, thirty-three projects were submitted to be considered for awards. The award jury consisted of:
The winners of the 2007 Joint Award Program were announced at the 2007 Joint Conference of the Washington and Oregon Chapters of the APA held in October 2007 in Tacoma, Washington. The winners were as follows: Physical Plans Merit Award – Everett Downtown Plan
Honorable Mention Award – South 154th Street Station Area Action Plan and SeaTac- Airport Station Area Action Plan
Rural/Small Town Plans Merit Award – Eatonville Town Center and Corridor Program
Honorable Mention Award – Sub-Area Plan Historic Business District and South Streetscape Supplement
Citizen Involvement Merit Award – “Vision and Path: Ellensburg’s Next Legacy”
Honorable Mention Award – “A Vision for the Mountlake Terrace Town Center” Subarea Plan
Honorable Mention Award – Vancouver Planning Commission “First Tuesday” Series
Emerging Technology Merit Award – King County Fire District 37 Concurrency Management Plan
Sustainability Merit Award – Shoreline Restoration Incentives
Transportation Plans Merit Award – US 2 Route Development Plan
Honorable Mention Award – Aurora Corridor North 145th Street – North 165th Street Project
Implementation Merit Award – Redmond Community Indicators
Honorable Mention Award – “Liberty Village” Specific Area Plan Overlay
Student Projects Merit Award – White Center Neighborhood Action Plan
Honorable Mention Award – Modeling of Micro-Spatial Employment Location Patterns and its Application to the Puget Sound Region: Count and Choice Approaches
Over the next several issues of the newsletter, award winners from 2007 will be highlighted. The Chapter website www.washington-apa.org/events/awards/index.shtml also includes a summary of all of the award winners for the past several years. The 2008 Joint Award Program Announcement will arrive via e-mail and U.S. mail in early 2008. The award winners will be announced at the 2008 PAW Conference at Lake Chelan in April 2008. For more information on the Award program, please contact Bob Sokol, AICP. bobhsokol@earthlink.net
WHAT THE HECK ARE APA DIVISIONS, ANYWAY?
According to the odds of probability, approximately 4,000 APA members are in the process of renewing their membership. As you review your dues renewal form, you will see “Division Dues” and may wonder exactly what role Divisions have within the organization and what benefit there is in joining a Division. Unlike Chapters – of which membership is a mandatory requirement of maintaining your APA membership – being a member of a Division is optional. So why should you join a Division? Is it worth the additional $25.00 a year to your profession (and, perhaps more importantly, your employer) to join a Division? The best way to describe the differences between a Chapter and a Division is that while Chapters are generalist in nature in serving the needs of members within a geographically-defined area, Divisions focus on the specializations of our profession, such as transportation planning, economic development, and urban design; creating a forum to discuss areas of interest unique to population-based groups of planners such as women, African-Americans, Latinos/Latinas, gays and lesbians, and Native Americans; and establishing a forum for the setting-based planners working in large cities and counties, as well as small towns and rural areas. While the focus of any one Division may be specialized, the scope is nationwide and global (especially true with the International Division). Division members share experiences with members throughout North America and the world, and the ideas learned are transferable to the situations each of us face on a daily basis. As you scan the list of the 21 Divisions, you might be wondering what types of issues they are dealing with. Here is a small sample of these issues:
To conclude, before you complete your membership renewal, take another look at that bottom left corner of the application form directly right of this article and consider joining one or more Divisions. It is a simple task to hand-write the Divisions you want to join on the renewal form – and well worth the time and modest cost to do so.
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@GordonDerr.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 fifteenth of every month, preceding the publication month. Please submit all newsletter articles to newsletter@washington-apa.org. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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