The following is excerpted from Ed McMahon's Public Buildings Should Set the Standard, in the Winter 2001 issue of the Planning Commissioners Journal (the article will be available to order & download online in early February)

While local and state government buildings are often the "crown jewels" of a community, the nation's most important landlord is the federal government. Locating and keeping federal facilities in downtown areas can be good for everyone's bottom line. In fact, federal policy gives preference to locating new facilities in downtown historic buildings and districts. See Federal Policy.

Unfortunately, one major federal agency -- the U.S. Postal Service -- considers itself exempt from these requirements. In the 1990's, the Postal Service began moving post offices out of downtowns, often with little public notice and frequently to locations that ignored local zoning ordinances. In 1997 alone the Postal Service closed or consolidated 145 post offices.

The Postal Service is the most visible and ubiquitous federal institution in America. Indeed, in many small towns, the local post office is the only federal building. Because of the unique presence of post offices, many citizens equate their treatment at the hands of the post office with their relationship with the Federal Government in general.

The daily visits that citizens make to local post offices have shaped the development pattern of many towns. Business districts have grown up around post offices, allowing postal customers to shop, dine, and take care of other needs in one convenient area.

Despite their role as community institutions, many post offices have been moved from downtown or town center locations to outlying sites, frequently in commercial strip developments. Local residents and officials have often received little notice of these shifts. Moreover, it has not been uncommon for these relocations to contradict policies set out in community comprehensive plans.

Currently, there is no statutory requirement for the Postal Service to consult with the community or their customers before making relocation decisions. What's more, the Postal Service considers itself exempt from local zoning and building laws -- and has frequently ignored them.

When the Postal Service made no attempt to coordinate its facilities planning with the Portland, Oregon land use plan, and then refused to build sidewalks to a major new postal facility, Congressman Earl Blumenauer got mad.

The proposed Post Office Community Partnership Act would require the Postal Service to consider, among other factors: the extent to which the post office is part of a core downtown business area; any potential effect of the relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction on the community served by the post office; and whether the community served by the post office opposes a relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction.

He introduced legislation -- "The Post Office Community Partnership Act" -- in the 105th Congress that would require the Postal Service to obey local land use and planning laws and work with local citizens before making relocation decisions than could dramatically affect the fabric of a community.

Despite support from over 240 congressional co-sponsors, the bill has not yet passed, but it has forced the Postal Service to improve its public involvement procedures and has temporarily halted the closing of existing downtown facilities.

return to post office index