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O B S E R V A T I O N S
Each Role is Vital
Even in the process of rewriting or developing new ordinances, the Town
Council is still the policy maker. The Planning Board functions like a technical consultant to the Council recommending effective ways to accomplish the general community goals requested by the Council. ...  The recommendations may be creative and far reaching. They may be more complex or technically innovative than the Council ever imagined. But, it is the Council that makes the final decision with whatever political considerations it deems appropriate. Each role is vital to a smoothly functioning community. But they are separate.
Pamela Plumb, "Town Councils and Planning Boards: A Challenging Relationship" (PCJ #9, March/April 1993)
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One Planning Commissioner
I'm familiar with a rural county where strong leadership came from a planning commissioner. He did not hold grandiose ideas, and there was no specific project that he promoted. But he was a constant presence, a calming influence, and a fair and honest dealer.  Through his perseverance, his willingness to share his knowledge, and his ability to teach other volunteers… he created an environment for the county to deal with serious conflicts and major changes to its economic structure in a productive way.
Eileen Hennessy, "Finding Community Leaders" (PCJ #18, Spring 1995)
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Providing Leadership
All of a commissioner's time can be spent stamping out brushfires and processing standard reviews. But it is worth recalling that citizen planning commissioners were put in that position not to execute administrative chores for city council, but to provide insights into the problems and potential of the community, and to provide leadership in the solution of problems before they arise.
Laurence C. Gerckens, "Community Leadership & the Cincinnati Planning Commission" (PCJ #18, Spring 1995)
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Behind the Scenes
Planning commissioners may well be unaware of the amount of time that staff spends in dealing with major or controversial requests. Staff may have met and talked numerous times with neighbors and the applicant to resolve the issues.
Carolyn L. Braun, "Planning from Different Perspectives" (PCJ #24, Fall 1996)
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Know Your Role
Are you making a recommendation to a city council? Are you making a final decision? What are the limits of your authority? Understand your role in the planning process and who you are responsible to. The mayor or council who appointed you? Your neighbors? The general plan? It's like suddenly coming on stage in the middle of a play to act out a role: if you don't know your part, and how it fits with everyone else's, you'll be an embarrassed failure.
Steven R. Burt, "Being a Planning Commissioner" (PCJ #24, Fall 1996)
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Less Vocal Constituencies
Never worry that developers or land-owners will be shy about voicing their opinions about planning policies or programs. Planning affects them directly and they make it their business to follow what you are doing. But there may be other less vocal constituencies in your community equally as deserving of attention. ... Before you make significant decisions, broaden the range of people you inform and involve.
Elaine Cogan, "What Your PMQ (Public Meeting Quotient)?" (PCJ #31, Summer 1998)
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Think Regionally
Today's businesses seek out locally-cooperative, globally-competitive regions for expansion or relocation. There is an intimate connection between regional economic development, regional land use planning, efficient local government, local quality of life, and corporate competitiveness in the global economy.
Mayor William A. Johnson, Jr., "Metropolitan Pressure Points" (PCJ #31,
Fall 1998)
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Follow the Rules
Failure to adopt and follow formal, fair, and coherent procedures erodes public confidence in planning. Rules of procedure assure that all members of the body are treated equally, and that all are free to participate fully in the discussion. Parliamentary procedure seeks to provide for both efficient and effective decision-making and both open and full debate of issues.
David J. Allor, "The Commission Will Come to Order" (PCJ #20, Fall 1995)
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Guardian of the Public Environment
When the first official, permanent and local American planning commission was created at Hartford, Connecticut in 1907, the aesthetic purposes of community planning - realizing an inspiring good order in the public environment while protecting the positive qualities of both the natural environment and the cultural heritage - were clearly dominant forces in the emerging community planning movement.… The modern American planning commission is the guardian of the public physical environment.
Laurence C. Gerckens, "Community Aesthetics and Planning" (PCJ #7,
November/December 1992)
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