Spring 2026 Learning Opportunities

Learn how to navigate NPC26 with purpose by understanding why you are attending and what you hope to gain from the experience. Leave with practical strategies for planning your time and navigating NPC26 — from scheduling in the conference app to tips on exploring new areas of planning. Understand exactly how networking naturally happens at conferences and how to engage in a way that is most comfortable to you. Hear about Detroit from a local and fellow planner's perspective and start building a list of can't-miss experiences in the city that knows what it means to innovate. Can't make it to Detroit? Facilitators will explain the differences between NPC26 in person and online and (spoiler!) why it's worth attending both.

Behind the Cloud: Planning for Data Centers

Time: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

CM Credits: 1.5 CM

Cost: Free

Location: Online

Organizer: APA Technology Division

Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_m4kNKQIvTo2zSmhAPyiT1g#/registration

Description: Data centers are an industrial land use of considerable debate in communities as they have seen high levels of investment in recent years, driven by the expansion of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure. Hosted by the APA Technology Division, this webinar will examine the broader landscape and drivers of data center development in the U.S. and explore how communities can proactively plan for this rapid growth. This includes a look at how data centers can be practically regulated by a local municipality's zoning power and the specific policies that must be in place before a proposal arrives. As proposals increase in urban, suburban, and rural jurisdictions alike, they often bring promises of expanded tax base alongside concerns about energy and water consumption, land use compatibility, and environmental impacts. This session will provide a balanced look at these implications, including strategies to improve these projects' impacts on community health, safety, and welfare in a sustainable manner. We will discuss typical development review pathways from by-right approvals to development agreements. The session will also feature a case study of "the extreme outlier project": how a project the scale of the Microsoft Data Centers in Mount Pleasant, WI gets done, while exploring how a relatively small community plans for a facility that breaks every metric in a standard code. This webinar will offer practical insights, national context, and actionable planning policies to help communities navigate proposals thoughtfully, negotiate effectively, and achieve better outcomes.

ADA Compliance for Local Governments

Time: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

CM Credits: 1.5 CM | 1.0 Equity CM

Cost: Free

Location: Online

Organizer: APA Ohio

Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JQzLUQLNQY2Mv32XNe9e4A#/registration

Description: The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires that most local government entities perform a self-evaluation of their facilities and programs, services, and activities (PSA) to identify physical and programmatic access to persons with disabilities and prepare an ADA Transition Plan to lay out a plan for removing those barriers over time. Evaluations are required within both public areas and employee areas that are common use and involve reviews for compliance with applicable standards developed by the U.S. Access Board and others. The City of Lakewood, Ohio, recognized the need to be compliant with these requirements and enlisted the assistance of DLZ Ohio, Inc. to prepare their ADA Transition Plan. DLZ worked closely with City staff and the ADA Transition Plan Task Force, a group comprised of City staff and residents, with many of the residents having a disability. The ADA Transition Plan for Lakewood was completed in the fall of 2023 and the City is currently implementing recommendations to address identified barriers. This presentation will review the specific ADA requirements for local governments, provide details about the scope of the project completed for the City of Lakewood, and the current and planned steps for implementation of the Transition Plan by the City as they move to eliminate barriers to access to City programs.